Tigress - Shattered Destiny
by Crusader Dragon Alpha
Summary: After facing an enemy she cannot beat, Tigress is thrown through time to the year 2277, to a landscape long after a Nuclear Holocaust. Together with David, an immortal being also known as Twinblade, she must find a way back to her time and stop her enemy in the past to save the Valley of Peace's future. But will her victory be genuine, or merely a mirage...?
1. Prologue

**Kung Fu Panda's Master Tigress in:**

**Shattered Destiny**

(DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, or any fictional franchises, factions or events I may not have mentioned.)

Prologue

_War. War never changes. Since the dawn of life, when the ancestors of the Valley of Peace – and everywhere else in the world – discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of every conceivable reason, from god, to justice, to simple, psychotic rage._

_Even the Dragon Warrior, Po, and the Furious Five, led by Master Tigress, could not stop the wars that eventually found their home. Powerful warriors they may be, they were still mortal, and therefore did not live to see everything they held dear laid to waste by the mysterious, evil villain, Eden. No one knew who Eden was. No one knew where he came from. No one knew what he wanted. But one thing was clear: Eden was, somehow, immortal._

_But in the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of Eden and the rest of the world that the Valley of Peace had been so isolated from, could sustain itself no longer. The entire world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the Apocalypse was merely the prologue to another bloody chapter in the annals of history. For Eden, and the great powers of the world, had succeeded in destroying the very world they sought to protect for whatever reasons, but war... war never changes._

_In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the nuclear holocaust by taking refuge in giant, underground facilities, called Vaults. It was there that there came to be a legend of a man who would destroy Eden and his followers – like Eden, an immortal being, known only as Twinblade. But this man was merely a legend, as evidenced by the events surrounding Eden's rise to power and the apocalypse._

_However, two hundred years after the Atomic Apocalypse of 2077, some time after the survivors emerged from their vaults to the hell of the Wasteland, the Immortal Twinblade was supposedly sighted, and the very fabric of time began to turn back on itself. For not only was Twinblade spotted, but he was not alone. He walked with another, one who did not belong._

_A companion, it seemed, that was from another time..._

Tigress awoke, barely keeping herself from screaming. Another nightmare. The same thing as it had been fore the past three weeks. A villain, impossible to defeat. A portal, to a different land – barren, lifeless, and seemingly devoid of life. A wasteland. She still felt her skin and fur tingle at the mere memory of it. In the nightmare, she felt sick, like the very air itself was poisonous. It made her weak, falling to her knees and vomiting. She felt her very life leaving her. And then, just as she was about to pass, she saw him – the warrior who finds her, a white tiger, almost like a ghost.

Tigress rose from bed and dressed, heading out toward the kitchen. She wasn't hungry, but she had to eat something. But after she ate, she headed to the Pool of Sacred Tears, where Shifu was normally meditating. But how would she tell him? How could she tell her adopted father that she was having dreams of what she perceived as her own death? In an alien landscape she knew nothing about? She didn't know.

As Tigress expected, Shifu was meditating near the pool. She bowed to him, then began, "Master, I have-"

"I know, Tigress," Shifu said, before Tigress could say anything else. "The others have told me. Po seems especially worried about you."

"I've been having... nightmares, master," Tigress said.

"I know," Shifu affirmed. "It shows. You are distracted. Unbalanced." Shifu paused, then asked, "These nightmares... what are they about?"

Tigress sighed, then began to recount the details of the nightmare she'd been having for three weeks. When she finished, Shifu let out a long sigh. "This is, indeed, disturbing, Tigress. It seems to suggest that this... villain, whoever he may be... is a great threat. But the land you find yourself in... doesn't seem to fit the world we live in."

"And what about the man at the end of my dream? The one who finds me as I'm... dying?" Tigress asked.

"He is unfamiliar to me. The only person I know that even comes close to that description was Tai Lung, and he's been dead for years," Shifu explained. Again, he paused, then rose from meditation to approach Tigress. "Tigress, I've known you since you were a little girl. I raised you. But never did I think I would live to see the day when you had a vision of your own."

"... Vision...?" Tigress murmured, confused.

"The events you describe are not consistent with any mere dream – the Universe has given you a vision of the future," Shifu said.

Tigress was shocked and appalled. A vision of the future? Could that barren wasteland be the future of the Valley of Peace? Is the man in her dream Tai Lung reborn?

Was she destined to die like that?

"So... I am destined... to die in agony?" Tigress queried, her voice quiet.

"Tigress," Shifu assured her, "You would do well to remember that the prophecies suggested in visions like yours tell of what _may_ be, not what _should_ be."

"What should I do, master?" Tigress asked.

"That is up to you, Tigress – but whatever you do, don't fight your destiny. As Master Oogway told me, many warriors meet their destiny on the path they take to avoid it," Shifu explained.

Tigress had heard enough. She thanked Shifu for his wisdom and departed. She wished that his answers would set her mind at ease, but now, she was more on edge than ever.

Faced with her own death, she found she was angry. What kind of supreme being dictated she die like that? To die so young? Before she could ever feel what it was like to fall in love? To have a family of her own? To see her grandchildren? To grow old, be at peace, knowing she led a fulfilling life despite everything she'd been through? It galled her to her core.

No, she thought. She would not die. She would take steps to ensure she would live to a ripe, old age. She would change her future.

Though she knew not how...

* * * Two Weeks Later * * *

The dreams continued to plague Tigress, but somehow, less than before, as the weeks rolled by. Tigress was in the kitchen, eating noodles cooked by Po as she considered that maybe these were merely bad dreams, contrary to what Shifu had said, when Monkey came bursting into the room.

"Tigress!" he exclaimed, "You must come at once!"

"What is it?" Tigress asked.

"It's Shifu! He's in trouble!" Monkey responded. Tigress and Po dropped what they were doing and followed Monkey, through the valley and out to a field on the outskirts, where Viper, Crane and Mantis were already present. There, a strangely-dressed leopard stood waiting, with Shifu held by the throat in the air.

"So, the Furious Fighters are arrayed against me, in protectorship of their master... how predictable," he said, his accent completely alien to the group.

It was then that Tigress recognized this man – his voice, his look... She knew this man.

_"__You took my home from me, Eden... seems fitting I take your life!" _She heard herself growl in anger.

_"__And who are you to take my life, when clearly, I am the best chance the world has of getting back to it's former glory?"_ Tigress heard the man say.

_"__Who am I? My name... is Tigress... Priznat! And I will have! My! REVENGE!"_ Tigress screamed in her dreams.

She knew this man. She recognized him.

"... Eden..." She said.

The man frowned, dropping Shifu. He regarded Tigress with confusion and suspicion. "Are you familiar to me?" he asked. "Have we met on some distant field?"

Tigress snapped to her fighting mind. "You will not harm our people," she growled as the others assumed their fighting stances.

Eden's expression changed to one of shock, as he apparently recognized Tigress. "You...! It's you! This is the day!" He snapped into his own fighting stance.

The fighters all came at Eden at once. But he was apparently expecting this, and easily deflected and redirected their attacks at each other. All except Tigress, who managed to keep her attacks on Eden. The others, especially Po, lunged in whenever they could, but were no match for Eden. It was like he knew every move they would make before they did – all except Tigress. Somehow, he could not predict her.

He roared, sending a concussive blast outward, sending all but Tigress sprawling to the ground. He seized Tigress by the throat and lifted her off her feet.

"You're not the one to bring me down..." he growled. His grip tightened, and Tigress couldn't breathe. There was a flash of light behind her, and an echoing, artificial roar. "Perhaps a vision of what is to come is in order...?" He turned Tigress around, and she saw the source of the light – a swirling, shimmering portal. Where it led, she didn't know. And before she could react, she was thrown into it as she heard Eden begin to laugh. Thousands of lights flashed before her eyes, she felt as though she was rushing at an insane speed, and just as this all started, it ended, and she collided with the ground in a strange mist that made her skin and fur tingle.

The dream. This was happening just as it happened in her dream. Her nightmare. Her premonition. This was the end. Where she would die. "H-hello?" she called out, hoping to find someone who could help her. "Is any..." She paused, vomiting onto the ground. "... Can anyone... hear me...?" Desperate, she moved blindly through the mist, trying to find her way out, but the mist seemingly sapped her strength, more and more. She'd gone no more than ten or twelve paces when she dropped to her knees, weakened and dying. "Is anyone out there?" There was still no response. This was it. Her death. So much left unfinished, so much not done. Not experienced. Not...

As the sky darkened, and Tigress toppled over, too weak to go on, she saw him – the ghost. The white tiger. He came running over to her side as she blacked out. She was barely conscious enough to feel something prick her arm, but then, everything was dark, and she waited for her first glimpse of paradise in the afterlife...

(More to follow. Stay tuned.)


	2. Chapter 1

**Part I:**

**Shattered Future**

Chapter One

Tigress could suddenly feel a dizzying sense of vertigo, as though the world around her were spinning. Her eyes cracked, then slowly opened. Her vision was blurred, but adjusted. She found herself in a room with grey walls of what appeared to be stone. Looking down at herself, she saw she was dressed in a gown of some sort – nothing she was familiar with. It was colored a teal blue. Where were her clothes...? She looked up and saw them hanging on a coat hanger.

Where was she? Was this the entrance to paradise? She was so confused.

She looked down at her left arm, where she felt the prick before she died, and saw a bandage there. This was no afterlife – this was an infirmary. She was _alive_. Tigress felt a powerful sense of elation. But how? How did she survive... whatever it was that happened to her?

The white tiger, she told herself. He had to be the reason she was alive. He put himself at risk, wading into that toxic mist to haul Tigress out. Such a noble spirit. But where was he...?

A door opening and subsequently closing answered her question. She found herself frozen in place as she saw a shadow walk around the corner, and the white tiger appeared shortly thereafter, walking around the corner dressed in some kind of battle armor. He looked Tigress directly in the eyes and smiled.

"You're finally awake," he said. "I was beginning to think you might never wake up, despite assurances to the contrary."

"Where am I?" Tigress asked, suddenly transfixed by fear.

"Calm down – you're safe. You're in one of my safe locations; specifically, a renovated clinic inside the city of Megaton," the tiger replied calmly.

Tigress frowned. "Where?" She asked.

"Megaton – it's a scrap-metal city built around an undetonated atomic bomb," the tiger explained. "Don't worry, the bomb was diffused long ago."

"Whose bright idea was it to build a city around a bomb?" Tigress queried.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't mine; I'm just glad I was able to deep-six the nuke before some dumb fuck set it off – the last thing this world needs is another nuclear warhead detonation," the tiger chuckled.

Another deed performed by this mysterious tiger, putting himself in harm's way to save others. Truly a noble soul. "You must truly be noble to do such a thing," Tigress said. "Speaking of which... thank you, for rescuing me."

"Ah, don't mention it – I try to help whenever I can. I just happened to be in the area when, by sheer luck, you appeared nearby," the tiger stated.

"Yes, I... I remember being thrown through some kind of... portal. The man who threw me through said... something about seeing what was to come," Tigress explained, avoiding saying the Eden's name.

"Yeah," the white tiger said, tapping a device on his wrist. "The computer registered it as a temporal rift."

Tigress again frowned. "What's a temporal rift?" she asked.

"It is, essentially, a portal in time. You were thrown... god-only-knows how many hundreds of years forward into time," the white tiger told her. "Not only that, but from what the computer tells me, you were thrown through from another location. Judging by your clothes, I assumed someplace in China."

"Yes... I was thrown from my homeland, the Valley of Peace," Tigress affirmed.

"I see," the white tiger said, stroking his chin as though he had a beard. "A piece of advice – keep that bit of your past to yourself. While I hold no malice against China – especially the China of your time – a lot of people here do. They blame China for the Apocalypse."

"Well, I imagine we'll have more time to discuss this world's history later," Tigress said. "Back to my recent history – what was causing that toxic mist you found me in?"

The white tiger sighed. "During the Atomic Apocalypse of 2077, so many nuclear warheads struck so many places on this world, it plunged it into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation," he explained. "That was... two hundred years ago. The radiation has pretty much gone away at this point, but there are still spots that are heavily irradiated. You ended up in one such spot."

"Yes, the... the air itself seemed toxic, making me sick and weak," Tigress said.

"Yeah, that's what radiation poisoning will do to you," the tiger responded. "I managed to inject some Rad-Away before it killed you, then dragged you to safety here. I had to get creative to get you out of your coma, but... seems my little concoction worked – though exactly what effect it'll have on you remains yet to be seen."

"Concoction?" Tigress repeated. "What did you give me?"

The tiger inhaled, then explained, "You see, I was born with a natural and transferable immunity to radiation and all kinds of mutations, diseases, and, scariest of all, forms of aging. I had been working for years to see if I can transfer my-"

"Hold on a sec – you're immune to aging? Like... Immortal?" Tigress asked.

"Basically, yes," the tiger affirmed. "I had it on good authority that I could transfer these immunities to others, and had worked up a concoction that would give others all these abilities. However, I never had a live subject to test it on – and I was worried it would kill you, as I'd never tested it before. However, there are... other abilities that my concoction may have given you."

"Like what?" Tigress asked.

"Well, considering I derived the serum from my own DNA, you should have access to the... powers... that I have access to. But, as I said, I've never tested this concoction, so you may end up with a different set of powers. We'll really have to play it by ear and see what happens," The tiger said.

"So, basically, we're gonna have to stick together from here on out," Tigress surmised.

"Not just so I can both train you in the use of these powers and study the effect my serum had on you," the tiger said, "but because, frankly, I'm going to need your help."

"Very well," Tigress responded. "You helped me – twice – so it's only fair I help you. What do you need help with?"

"First of all, you don't owe me anything – I've never abandoned anyone in need. Usually, I helped from afar, but in your case... it was different," the tiger explained, walking over to get Tigress's clothes and handing them to her. "Second, I need to get you some armor and a weapon, so that you can better survive the wasteland."

"Yes, that's one question I wanted to ask – where am I, exactly? As in, what province, or state, or something?" Tigress asked.

"You're in what's left of the United States of America – we, specifically, are outside the ruins of Washington, DC, America's Capital," the tiger replied. "And after we get you equipped and prepped, we're gonna have to scavenge around in DC for a part we're going to need for a device that'll get you back home." He walked around the corner and leaned against the wall, his shadow telling her he was facing away from her – to give her privacy while she redressed. She got out of the gown and began to dress as she asked,

"I have to ask, since we're working together... what's your name? I didn't get a chance to ask you when we first met."

The tiger laughed, apparently getting Tigress's implied joke. "Name's David – David Priznat. You?"

"Tigress," Tigress answered. She got her tunic on as she asked, "Where are we going to get my armor and weapon?"

"I have a house here in Megaton – it's not glamorous, but it's a home in this region. I have a spare set of armor identical to this one and an assault rifle there," David said.

"Is the weapon really necessary? I am, after all, a Kung Fu Master," Tigress stated.

"Perhaps – but most hostiles out here are armed with guns, and there are a number of them that Kung Fu skills just won't cut it – like Super Mutants, for instance," David said. "Those bastards will rip you limb from limb, armor or no. It's better to drill them from a distance. And then, there's those devil-headed stormtroopers running around out there – the Enclave. With the power armor they wear, you'd be hurting yourself more than them if you went toe-to-toe with them using Kung Fu skills alone. No, you're gonna need a decent rifle to survive here."

"Super mutants?" Tigress asked.

"Yeah – big motherfuckers, twice – if not triple – your size with the strength to single-handedly tip over a semi-truck," David explained. "As I said, those bastards will rip you limb from limb, armor or no – but that's only if you're lucky. They're actually fond of capturing you and hauling you off to god-knows-where to torture you or – god forbid – eat you. Nasty motherfuckers. So if you see one, go for the head and make sure it explodes. They deserve it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tigress said. "But what about the Enclave?"

"Ah, my old 'pals' from the Enclave," David scoffed, "The remnants of a corrupt America under the leadership of their president – the last president America had before the war and subsequent apocalypse. If I ever find that motherfucker, I'll rip his heart out."

"You sound like you hate the Enclave – and their president," Tigress observed.

"Of course I do – who doesn't? The Enclave corrupted my homeland. They corrupted America and turned it into something it never should have been!" David exclaimed. He paused, sighed, then added, "You should have seen America back before the war. It was paradise here."

"I bet it was. But should we not be heading out?" Tigress asked, now fully dressed and walking around the corner.

"Yes... we should," David responded. "Just keep close to me, and let me do the talking."

David opened the door, and after he stepped through, Tigress stepped through, and her eyes were greeted by blinding light. Her eyes adjusted, and she found herself staring at exactly what David described – a scrap-metal city built around a massive bomb, unlike anything Tigress had ever seen.

She followed David away from the bomb, through the city, and started up a hill when someone called out to David. David and Tigress turned to see a young feline, running up to them. She paused before them, panting heavily.

"Steady, Daala, catch your breath," David said. Daala complied, then said,

"I... managed to get one of the weapons on your list. It's stored in your house, as you requested."

"Just two weeks after the last one? Shit, Daala, you work fast," David chuckled.

"Hit a lucky break on this one – nicked it off a Talon Company merc who got killed in an ambush," Daala said. "I was lucky to get out of there before his friends came looking for him."

"Great – which one was it?" David asked.

"The modded Kalashnikov Assault Rifle – you know, with the special rail system specific to aye-kays," Daala responded.

"Did you attach the mods I specified?" David asked.

"Wouldn't have stashed the rifle in your house if I didn't. Had to repair it, first – it was in piss-poor condition. But once I had it nice and pristine, I attached the mods; folding stock, dual mags, laser sight, that odd foregrip, ACOG scope – all of it," Daala replied. "And while I did this, I was wondering – what do you need it for? You usually favor the larger-caliber rifles, like that... that... one rifle of yours, the one made by Dragon Arms."

"It wasn't for me," David said, looking to Tigress. "It was for her."

Daala looked at Tigress and frowned, as though surprised. "Is she...?"

"Yep. The one that came through the temporal rift," David said.

"David... she... that's master Tigress, from the Jade Palace," Daala whispered hoarsely.

Tigress was shocked. How did Daala know...? "How do you know who I am?" she asked quietly.

"We can deal with that later," David said. "Suffice to say... there's some bits of this world's history you aren't going to like." He motioned his head for Tigress to follow him, and she and Daala followed David into his house. Inside, Tigress saw what she assumed was the rifle David had intended for her, laying on a small table. It was a gun, that much was certain, but it wasn't any kind of gun she was familiar with. Even the rifles in China didn't come close to this.

"Go ahead – pick it up. Feel the weight," David told Tigress. She complied, walking over to and picking up the rifle. It was much lighter than she was expecting, yet heavy enough to not worry about aiming troubles. She held the rifle in both hands, keeping her finger away from the trigger for fear of accidentally setting the weapon off.

"Don't worry, it isn't loaded," Daala assured her. "And that weapon is easy to use, reload, and maintain. All Kalashnikov weapons are like that."

"How long does reloading take?" Tigress asked. "And what does this rifle fire?"

"Reloading speed depends on how much you've practiced reloading a weapon like that," David explained, "And by how fast you can move. As for what that thing fires..."

"That's a variant of the archaic AK47 – and as such, it fires 7.62x39mm rounds. David here has a supply of that kind of ammo in both the standard and depleted-uranium variety," Daala stated. David walked over to a metallic box marked "762x39", retrieved a small, pointed, metallic item, and tossed it to Tigress.

"It fires those," he said. Tigress caught the metallic item – an advanced-design bullet, upon closer look – and examined it. It looked to be split into two parts – the solid head, and the hollow casing that held the head.

"I assume that the casing holds the gunpowder charge that sends the bullet on its way?" Tigress asked.

David raised an eyebrow. "That's a little to good to be an assumption. You work with guns before?"

"No," Tigress admitted, "But I've seen how they work... well, the ones from my time. This... this is beyond anything I've ever seen. Smaller, yet somehow, deadlier."

"Well, get used to it – the faster you learn the basics of that rifle, the faster we can move on to the more advanced designs. And while you're learning that rifle, you may want to suit up in the armor I have for you."

"What kind of armor is it?" Tigress asked.

"The latest kind of battle armor made before everything went ka-blooie," David said. "Only a small step removed from the Power Armor that the Enclave typically uses, but more advanced and with the added benefit of advanced computers and – best of all – a highly-resilient energy shield. This armor should get you through the journeys ahead of us."

"You seem awfully well-equipped for a person in this wasteland," Tigress commented. "I would have thought such military weapons and technologies would have been destroyed in the apocalypse... or looted by scavengers and looters."

"Mm... you seem to know a lot of what would happen in such situations," David replied. "How?"

"About a year before I encountered the man who threw me through that rift, my... friends and I saw firsthand a major riot because of a political upheaval in another part of China. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty," Tigress said.

"Hm," David answered, "Well, under normal circumstances, you'd be correct – but the apocalypse that struck here struck with such speed, it left looters and scavengers little time to loot everything. In fact, the scavengers didn't appear to loot the old pre-war buildings until... fifty or sixty, seventy years later, when radiation levels dropped to tolerable levels. After the nukes first fell, with my... natural immunity to radiation and everything else, I was able to raid everywhere to get what I needed. Because everyone who wasn't in a vault was dead, no one could stop me. My armor and yours were among the items I scavenged."

"Where did you get them?" Tigress asked as David walked to a closet.

"Depot just outside Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada," David said, opening the closet to reveal a set of armor identical to his. "When first worn, it automatically adjusts to fit the size – and in your case, shape – of the wearer."

"Wasn't it irradiated when you—oh, wait... with that serum of yours, you gave me the same immunity to radiation you have," Tigress corrected herself.

"Well, immunity or not, at the time I got these, it didn't occur to me that I could do that. So, when I could, I cured these suits of any and all radiation. And they also serve as an additional barrier against radiation, so they also function as radiation suits as well as combat armor," David stated.

"What are they?" Tigress asked, moving over to take a closer look, "I've never seen armor so... complex, yet so... simple-looking."

"Dragon Arms Advanced Dragonskin Tactical Combat armor; overlapping, high-tensile strength, linked and suspended ceramic discs with a flexible underlay for better mobility and reinforced with an ablative plating overlay for extra protection in addition to the energy shielding," David said. "Go ahead, try it on. As for me, I've got to install the final attachments to the rifle I'm using."

"What rifle are you-" Tigress began, before she saw David pull from a locker a rifle even more alien than the modded Kalashnikov rifle she had. Where her rifle had the bullet magazine in front of the grip and trigger, his rifle had the magazine situated _behind_ the grip, with a small, unknown device connected to the foregrip via a pair of wires on either side, and another device imbedded within the foregrip.

"Here," Daala offered, "Let me help you with that stuff."

With Daala's help, Tigress found it easier to get into her armor. It was surprisingly comfortable, considering it was battle armor. Even easier to understand was her rifle – in under six hours, she managed to get down the basics of how to shoot, operate, clean, and reload this rifle. David just watched from afar, working on his own rifle.

Here marked a new path for Tigress – and it was a path she would not walk alone. Her rescuer walked with her...


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Despite the fact that they were technologies from a place centuries past Tigress's time, Tigress found it easy to learn and adapt to the rifle and armor provided to her by David. She still honed her Kung Fu skills whenever she could, and under David's instruction, she found she could manipulate nearly anything – do anything – with telekinesis. She even found a number of combat applications for it under David's instruction. She began discovering powers that David's serum gave her, though David speculated that what she'd discovered so far was merely a fraction of what she may actually have.

She was both honing her Kung Fu and Telekinesis simultaneously – finding ways to combine them – when David called her down to the Megaton apartment. There, she saw him de-materializing his equipment into his armor's materialization emitters.

"Is something wrong?" Tigress asked.

"We're heading out," David said without looking away from his work.

"What about my basics training?" Tigress queried, beginning to de-materialize her own equipment into her armor.

"In case it escaped your notice, you've already got the basics down. I was just about to begin instructing the next tier when I received some... disturbing intel," David explained. "We'll work on the next tier of your training en route to GNR. Been meaning to check in with Three Dog for a while."

"Three Dog?" Tigress inquired, "That annoying guy on the radio that keeps howling?"

"Well, in his defense, that howling is better than that irritating-ass Enclave broadcast," David said.

"True," Tigress admitted. She was de-materializing a few dual mags of depleted-uranium ammo for her rifle when she asked, "What was the disturbing intel you received?"

"Daala spotted Enclave forces in the area I first found you in while scavenging early this morning. I'm not certain, but I think they may have been looking for you," David told her. "And because I don't believe you are yet ready to take on Enclave troops, I need to get you to a safe location. We'll be bunking in with Three Dog over at GNR for a bit, then we're heading to another location in DC where another of my... informants... has told me I might find a clue as to the whereabouts of the part I need."

Had Tigress been an over-eager acolyte, or at least a number of years less experienced with patience, she would have protested, boldly proclaiming herself ready to take on the Enclave. But she knew better. Her voice was even when she spoke again.

"Where is it?"

"One step at a time, Tigress," David told her. "It's good to plan ahead – but deal with each step of the plan one by one. Let's focus on getting to GNR first."

"Fair enough," Tigress said. She picked up her rifle, loaded a fresh mag, and cocked the weapon.

"While we're heading to GNR," David said, picking up his own rifle, "We'll need to keep alert – watch for marauders, raiders, any threats whatsoever. Kung Fu skills would be best used against those enemies with little to no armor and only those armed with melee weapons or are unarmed – anyone has a gun or is better armored, shoot them, and shoot to kill. Don't hold back – I can assure you, they won't."

"And if we run into Enclave forces?" Tigress inquired tactfully.

"In the event that we are spotted by Enclave forces, we are to move to safety and use our armors' integrated personal cloaking devices to slip past them," David stated.

"Very well," Tigress said. "When do we head out?"

"Just as soon as we get everything packed," David answered. "And before I forget, be on the lookout for anything we can use – alternative weapons, ammo, repair parts and scrap metal, scrap electronics, anything we can use to maintain our weapons and armor."

Tigress and David continued to pack, and right as the clock hit midday, they were off. Tigress took one last look at Megaton before she marched out of the gate with David – she'd only been there three weeks, yet it nearly felt like home. Nearly.

She and David stepped through the Megaton gate, and into the wasteland. "Initials from here on out," David said. "If the Enclave is onto us, using our initials in place of our names should throw them and any of their informants off... at least for a while. And keep your helmet on, too – so they can't see your face."

Tigress keyed in the combination, and materialized her helmet. The visor polarized, hiding her face from view, as the interior interface of her helmet came online. It was still something alien to her, but thanks to David and Daala's instruction, she knew how to use it. She and David headed in one direction, toward the giant spire in the distance.

"What's that?" Tigress asked, indicating that spire.

"Washington Monument," David answered. "Built in honor of the first President America had, George Washington."

"I bet this isn't what he had in mind when it came to the future of America," Tigress commented.

"I should think not," David responded.

"And since we're on the subject of history," Tigress said, "Would this be a good time to ask you what you meant when you said that some parts of this world's history I wouldn't like?"

"You sure you want to know?" David asked. "You would do well to remember that the questions of the living can offer more comfort than the answers of the dead."

Tigress frowned beneath her helmet. Answers of the dead...? "Please," Tigress half-requested, half-begged, "I want to know. What happened to my friends? My home?"

David sighed, then an uncomfortable pause followed. Finally, he began, "According to historical records, you were presumed dead. You were thrown through the portal, you were never heard from since. Master Shifu, head of the Furious Fighters and the Jade Palace, felt you had been cast adrift on the currents of time, forever lost. It seemed he was correct – you never turned up again."

_Until now,_ Tigress thought, a sense of melancholy creeping up on her. But what happened next...?

"After you disappeared, and were presumed dead two months later, Shifu fell into a deep, brooding depression. Not even Tai Lung's redemption could bring him out of it," David said.

Tigress was shocked. "Tai Lung returned?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes... two weeks after you were presumed dead," David continued. "With Shifu unable to take command, the furious fighters turned to the Dragon Warrior, Po, for leadership and guidance. He made an admirable attempt to rally the fighters, but had doubts about his own ability to lead. He eventually fell in love with one Mei Ling, and then, three months later, married her. But the pressure of command became too great for Po to handle. He left the Valley to live with Mei Ling, and settled down far away. To my knowledge, he lived out the rest of his days raising his three young children and wondering where his old friend, Tigress, had gone. Of all the furious fighters, he was the one most ardent in his belief you would come back."

"What happened to the others?" Tigress asked, tears pricking at her eyes.

"Over time, they drifted apart," David explained. "Mantis left to find his own way, Viper returned to her family, and eventually had a family, herself, Crane left China altogether, Monkey headed to Hong Kong, and was not heard from since, and Tai Lung stayed in the valley to help out wherever he could. As for Shifu, however... no one knows what happened to him. One day, he was merely meditating in the Jade Palace, and following nightfall... he wasn't. It was widely speculated that he went out in a half-hearted attempt to find the man he perceived to be responsible for killing his adopted daughter. No one saw him since."

The story was making her sick. But still, she had to know what else happened. "What... what happened with Tai Lung?" she asked, fighting to keep the tears away.

"He realized that he would not long be able to keep the Valley's enemies at bay himself," David said, "and with his knowledge of China's guns – which, he had brought with him when he returned – marshaled a volunteer militia into a fighting force capable of defending the Valley. From then on, the people referred to him as their General. It eventually proved effective; the man who threw you through that portal came after the valley, and Tai Lung's army stopped him. But he was not truly defeated – when he retreated, he disappeared. He was not heard from since."

_So the Valley did survive,_ Tigress thought. "What about afterward?" she asked.

"Afterward, Tai Lung and his army kept protecting the Valley, until he became too old to continue, and selected one of his children as a successor," David responded. "And from then on, until the apocalypse, the Valley was protected by Tai Lung's descendants."

"What happened to the Valley during the apocalypse? How hard did it get hit?" Tigress asked, her voice shaking.

David sighed. "I was hoping not to tell you. But, I will do so anyway, seeing as you'll eventually figure it out yourself; The Valley of Peace was one of the several locations directly struck by the nuclear warheads that scorched the earth... warheads that the President of the Enclave authorized to launch. There's nothing left of the home you knew but a barren, irradiated wasteland."

Tigress was appalled to her core. She had all the pieces assembled. The full picture. And it made her sick to her stomach just looking at it. There was nothing left. Her home, her family, her way of life... gone. Dead, just like a part of herself. Tears streamed down her face, even as she tried to fight them back.

And Tigress became overwhelmingly angry when she remembered Eden was the one who threw her through the Temporal Rift. He caused this. He destroyed everything she knew. Her sadness paled beside her burning anger. She didn't care how, she didn't care when, she didn't care why – Eden would pay.

She didn't even realize she was still moving until David stopped her. "Hold on – up ahead, see it? Shopping store. We might be able to find supplies in there. Raiders like to hide their valuables in places like that."

Tigress looked up and saw it. And with the mention of Raiders, she saw it as the perfect place to christen the rebirth of Master Tigress – not as Kung Fu Master of the Jade Palace, but as a Warrior of the Wastes. She racked a round into the chamber of her rifle, and David chuckled. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Those raiders will just shoot us as soon as they see us, anyway." He racked a round into the chamber of his own weapon, and he and Tigress moved down toward the shopping store. Tigress went around one way, David the other – the two raiders standing guard at the front entrance were too busy bickering to see the two armor-clad tigers sneak up on them and break their necks without firing a shot. One of them was carrying an unopened bottle of a dark, caramel-colored drink – the item they were bickering over. Tigress snatched that up and dematerialized it for later, in case she got thirsty. She unfolded the stock of her rifle, and she and David both moved quietly through the store doors. Tigress assessed the situation in a glance: She and David had two raiders walking on wooden planks over the tops of the store shelves. They would die first; next, there was a small storage area to her right with a few boxes of ammunition and some pistols sitting on the counter, unguarded; and lastly, there were three raiders in the back of the store, trying to access the secure storage area.

"Your call, Tigress – show me what you've learned," David requested. No need to keep this subtle, Tigress thought. Tigress pointed at David, then made a throat slicing gesture, then pointed at the raider on the catwalks on the far side of the store. She then did the same for herself, but pointed at the other raider on the catwalk. David nodded, and Tigress shouldered her rifle, took aim, and let off a quick, five-round burst; David was quick to nail the other raider. The others came running out at the sound of gunfire, so Tigress and David picked them off one by one as they came out. It didn't even occur to them to take cover. Idiots. Tigress and David were quick to scoop up the extra weapons and ammo, then raid the secure storage area, scoring some medical supplies and alcohol. Not even the raiders now coming into the store could stop them – every death Tigress caused numbed the pain she felt at the news of the fate of her home. They policed the bodies for anything useable, and managed to salvage some electronics and metal, and then moved out of the store, crossing a bridge and shooting dead the raider bastards who were coming to investigate the recent gunfire. They moved under an overpass, then into the outermost perimeter of the city. They stopped every so often to listen for anything and to check their armors' motion sensors for any sign of hostile activity. As the sun sank below the horizon, David led Tigress into an abandoned hotel, where they proceeded to the uppermost floor, to an apartment room protected by overlapping booby-traps that David had set up himself. While David got the portable generator in the room running with some of the alcohol they'd lifted from the store, Tigress sat at the table to contemplate what she'd learned.

She wished she'd listened to David. She wished she'd continued in ignorance. She didn't know how she would continue on, knowing the life she had before was now gone. Destroyed by Eden, in a chain reaction kind of way. She intentionally kept her helmet on, keeping from showing David how emotionally broken she felt. Tears streamed from her eyes as she remembered the faces of her friends. Her family.

She wasn't paying attention when her hands unconsciously keyed the combination that dematerialized the helmet, and David happened to be turning around when she inadvertently did this. Tigress looked to David, tears still streaming, and David stared at Tigress, not a sound coming from him. He returned to cooking, but said while doing so, "You haven't said a word since I told you what happened to your home... Truthfully, I don't blame you. It's not every day one learns they were the glue that held a family together – not to mention how their home and family died."

As much as Tigress wanted to be silent, and as angry as she was, she found she couldn't long keep David at bay. "I... I never knew I mattered that much," she said with a quivering voice. "I had thought such a thing rested with Po. Not me."

"Even in a family like that, everyone matters," David said. "Take it from someone who's lost enough families to know."

Tigress looked at David, even though he didn't look back. "You had family there you lost?" she asked.

"No," David sighed, putting his cooking utensils aside and lowering the heat level of the stove. He walked over and sat beside Tigress, as close as he could. "I lost my wife and son when the bombs fell. They were in a town directly struck by one of the nukes your country fired at us."

Tigress frowned. "But... that would give you reason-" she started.

"I know," David interrupted. "Initially, I hated China for what happened to my family. But, I realized that your country had been corrupted, just as mine had. America fired the first bombs, then China fired theirs. Then the rest of the world. I don't condone what your country did to mine, nor what mine did to yours. In the end, it cost us both our families." David paused as Tigress's eyes watered even more. "But if it matters, I understand why they did it. I truly believe that if we could find a way back, we could stop all this before it happens."

"But we can't," Tigress said, verging on a sob. She lowered her head in shame. "I tried to stop him... but I failed..." She felt a gentle tug as David gently pulled Tigress into his arms, and she embraced him, sobbing and mourning what she'd lost.

She didn't know how long she cried, but when it was done, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Tigress," David said, "What if I told you there really was a way to go back... to stop the one who sent you here? Stop him so all this-" he indicated the ruined wasteland. "-Never happens?"

"How?" Tigress asked.

"That's why I'm in DC – Two months before I met you, I had a vision; I saw you drop out of that Temporal Rift, and I watched a flash of events that ended with you walking back through that rift, to your home," David explained. "I have the machine that will take you home, to your time. That's why you and I are here – the piece we need to make that machine work is here in DC."

Tigress's eyes went wide with hope. "You mean...?" she murmured.

"Yes," David affirmed. "A Temporal Rift Generator. I have the means to get you back where you belong. What it needs is a part that generates the power needed to generate the rift."

Tigress thought this over as David returned to his cooking. It had not all gone against her – quite the contrary. It was fate. She was supposed to fail to destroy Eden, so that Eden could bring her here, after which, she would meet David, who would train her in new skills, and eventually, get her back to her own time to stop this from ever happening.

She had her heading. It was now only a matter of getting there...


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Tigress and David had a quiet dinner that evening, turned in for the night, and left with the dawn. Tigress found she was so excited with hope she could scarcely stand still or hold a thought. As she thought the previous night – she had her heading. It was now a matter of getting there.

And David walked with her. She remembered how he spoke of having a vision of her. What else was in that vision, she wondered...? Tigress realized that so far, David had been nothing but kind and caring of Tigress; he saved her life when she was dying of radiation poisoning, he gave her his own various immunities, he was sympathetic to her pain, he even held her as she cried, something no one had ever done. He was a good man, she saw.

Seeing as she was going to be with David for a while, she decided it prudent to get to know him on a more personal level. "David," she asked, "Would this be a bad time to get to know you better?"

"It's as good a time as any," David answered. "What did you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, you could tell me – considering that you are immune to aging – how old you are, because honestly, you don't look a day over my age," Tigress said.

David chuckled. "I'm well over two centuries old – two hundred-twenty-five, by my count," he answered. "But my... immortality... sparked when I hit 25."

Tigress did the math in her head. He was 25 when his immortality sparked, plus 200 years alive so that...

_Wait,_ Tigress thought. _That would mean..._ "You... you mean... you were there when the bombs first fell? You were there to see them..."

"Yep," David affirmed. "Did you not catch it before? Regardless, that day, the intense radiation levels seemed to... 'activate' my immunities. Well, the immortality and other powers, anyway. The immunity to everything else had manifested beforehand."

"Yes... and speaking of which... I'm sorry," Tigress apologized.

"For what?" David asked.

"For what happened to your family. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful for you," Tigress explained. "And I didn't mean to get so... emotional... last night. That's not usually the way I am."

David stopped and turned to Tigress, dematerializing both their helmets. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he told her, "Tigress, having emotions is nothing to be ashamed of. When my wife and son died, I mourned them for six months, and for thirty years, I regretted not being by their side when it happened. There's no shame in crying and mourning those you lost. It's only natural; they were your family. Were I in your position, I'd have been crying, as well. Everyone has feelings, and even a Kung Fu master of the Jade Palace feels grief."

"You don't take it as a sign of weakness?" Tigress queried. David shook his head.

"I never did. There was a time when I felt as you do now," David said. "I promise you, the pain will pass. It may take a while, but it will pass."

"Is it natural, then, to want to seek vengeance against the one who caused all this?" Tigress inquired. "To want to rip his heart out of his chest for destroying everything and everyone you knew?"

"Dangerous... but natural," David answered. "Anger can be a powerful tool – but it _will_ destroy you if you let it."

"I'll... keep that in mind," Tigress said. "But... thank you."

David smiled. "Anytime," he responded. Both their helmets materialized, and they continued onward, deeper into DC. They moved through the outer ruins and found a set of stairs that seemed to go underground. And David was walking down those steps.

"What's wrong with going through the city?" Tigress asked.

"City's in ruins – many of the direct paths are cut off by rubble. And climbing over them would take too long – metro's not too much different, but offers an easier route to move about DC," David explained. "Word of warning – watch your step and keep your head on a swivel. Ghouls could be anywhere, and raiders like to set traps on the floor."

"Great," Tigress growled. "Something _else_ to watch out for..." She and David descended into the damp, dimly-lit depths of the DC Metro. As they did, a question came to Tigress's mind: "David... what's a ghoul?"

"What you – thankfully – didn't become; a living person who's ingested an ungodly amount of radiation, lost all their fur and didn't have the good fortune to die. Ghouls are split into two distinct groups – feral and non-feral, both of which are self-explanatory," David answered.

"Are they tough to kill?" Tigress asked.

"Not really – depends largely on, assuming you refer to the feral ghouls, what they had on them when they went feral," David responded. "They'll kill anything that isn't a ghoul, but they aren't too bright; feral ghouls don't use weapons like us. Kung Fu skills would be doubly effective on them, if somewhat messier."

"Meaning they're easier to dismember than non-ghouls," Tigress surmised. She imagined David smiled as he made his response:

"You catch on fast; Your intelligence never ceases to amaze me."

Tigress blushed under her helmet. Still, they continued to cautiously move through the abandoned metro superstructure, keeping an eye out for floor traps and feral ghouls. It wasn't long before they walked onto a massive platform sitting in what appeared to be a heavily-damaged artificial cavern, with railroad lines moving through the area. The tunnels connecting to the cavern were all caved in to some degree, but from what Tigress could tell, they were still traversable.

The platform they were on, however, was not unoccupied. A duo of raiders were present, and started shooting as soon as they saw Tigress and David. Tigress iced one of them, David nailed the other. They policed the bodies, where Tigress dematerialized her Kalashnikov rifle to conserve her ammo, and took possession of the weapon the raider she killed had on him – a rifle with two barrels stacked on top of each other with no discernible magazine system.

"Winchester 101 shotgun, good thinking," David said, as though compelled to identify the weapon. He dematerialized his own weapon and picked up a pump-action shotgun. "These'll be useful against super mutants."

"How? Are they susceptible to them?" Tigress asked.

"Are they? Yes. Why? Not a fucking clue," David said. They nabbed the shells, and Tigress inadvertently discovered how to reload the weapon she was carrying. With that knowledge, she loaded a shell into each barrel and shut the receiver. Locked and loaded. They continued through the metro superstructure, and eventually into the light of day inside DC. The sign above the steps they ascended said "Chevy Chase Station." The two tigers moved into the ruins, and before long, spotted hulking, furless, green-skinned creatures that resembled people.

"Super Mutants?" Tigress asked.

"Yep," David affirmed. "Ugly motherfuckers – a product of the Enclave's military research before the war."

"What's the plan?" Tigress asked.

David grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it into the super mutants' midst. They all reacted with surprise, and looked around for whoever threw the grenade. One of them spotted David and Tigress just a split second before the device went off with a loud _BLAM! _The grenade slaughtered two of the four mutants; the other two – one armed with a sledgehammer, the other a large, rickety old machine gun – charged straight for Tigress and David. Both of them held their fire, waited till they got closer, then both put a single shell into their targets; Tigress whacked the one with the sledgehammer, cutting him short of Tigress's feet; David, whose shotgun apparently had a tighter spread than Tigress's, killed the other mutant with the machine gun, putting the shot spread in his face. Tigress reloaded, and silence settled over the area.

"Good shooting," David complimented. "Now let's get going before more show up." Tigress nodded in response, and the tiger duo made a quick sweep, recovering some .308-caliber ammunition and a pair of bolt-action hunting rifles, and moving through the ruins of a nearby building before coming face to face with a canine woman in bright-gray power armor. She spotted them and made for them, and Tigress, thinking the woman an Enclave soldier, raised her weapon to fire. David gently pushed the barrel down before Tigress had a chance to squeeze the trigger. "Relax – she's not Enclave. That's Sarah Lyons, my contact in the Brotherhood of Steel."

"David, is that...?" Sarah asked, as though shocked to see Tigress.

"Yep – the one, the only, Master Tigress," David answered. "But keep a lid on that; not many in the Brotherhood of Steel would appreciate her walking in their midst if they knew who she was."

"No shit," Sarah responded.

"Who among the brotherhood of steel knows me?" Tigress asked. "Hell – who among the populace of this... wasteland, knows who I am?"

"Relax; I only informed a select number of people of your arrival. Though you are in the history texts, I can assure you, no one living today knows your face; they only know your name," David assured her, "So you can still walk amongst America without any repercussions."

"So people know who I am, but they won't recognize my face?" Tigress inquired.

"Right," David affirmed.

"And for the record, I only guessed your identity because David had told me of his vision; I cannot see under your armor, but I assumed it was you because David usually travels alone," Sarah added.

"Given what he's been through," Tigress said, "I can't say I blame him. But should we not get moving?"

"She's right," David said. "Is GNR in any better or worse shape than the last time I was here?"

"Nope – Three Dog is still waiting for that Dish you said you'd get him," Sarah answered. "In fact, the muties have kept shooting the broadcast relay for target practice since you left; they keep that up, the signal for GNR will disappear completely."

"So if we go about installing the new dish, we need to clear out the super mutants first," Tigress surmised.

"She's quick," Sarah complimented. "Am I to assume you have the replacement?"

"Yes, I do – wasn't easy, but I do. Lifted it before I found Tigress off a military satellite that didn't get a chance to launch before the war," David answered. "Took a lot of space in the emitter inventory, too, but I have it with me."

"Well, let's go deliver the good news to him," Sarah said. "Oh, and Tigress – don't sweat about Three Dog. He knows who you are, and he's actually dying to meet you."

"Any particular reason why?" Tigress asked.

"None that he spoke to me," Sarah answered.

Suddenly, automatic weapons fire could be heard. Sarah put a hand to a communication earpiece Tigress didn't know she had, then cursed. "Shit, GNR's getting hit by super mutants! Let's go!"

Sarah, Tigress and David headed through a couple different building ruins before appearing at a combat scene: Up ahead, there was the GNR building, with three felines and two canines, all in power armor, guarding the building from behind sandbag barricades nestled atop the steps. Down on the ground, two fire teams of super mutants were peppering the defenders' position with varied weapons fire. And somewhere high-up, there was a brotherhood sniper; every now and again, Tigress could hear a _crack_ as the sniper fired on the super mutants.

Deciding to lend a hand, Tigress, David and Sarah fired on the mutants; Sarah was the first to fire, being armed with a laser rifle, and burned a hole in a super mutant's head; Tigress and David fired simultaneously, at different targets. Tigress's shell spread found the upper back of her target, and killed the mutant instantly; David's tight shell spread obliterated his target's heart. With Sarah and the other defenders' help, Tigress and David fired their weapons dry, clearing the area of Super Mutants, then made their morbid rounds, securing more shells, some more ammo for the hunting rifles they'd nabbed earlier, and a pair of high-explosive grenades. On their way up the steps, Tigress dematerialized her helmet and asked David, "Is Three Dog another of your friends?"

"In a manner of speaking," David answered as he did the same. "He keeps track of my little... escapades across the wasteland, and every now and then, passes along coded intel to me through his radio broadcast in the Capital Wasteland. You could say he's my Chief of Intelligence. Everything that happens in the capital wasteland goes through him."

"So that's why we're replacing his broadcast relay – so he can alert you to events going on in a wider area around DC?" Tigress deduced.

"Exactly," David affirmed. "As I said – every now and again, he passes along intel through carefully-worded, coded messages in his broadcast. The people of the wasteland just think it's typical radio, and the Enclave hasn't seemed to have caught on to his messages."

"Clever," Tigress complimented. "You seem very well-connected in this wasteland for someone who usually travels alone."

David paused just shy of the door. "One needs not travel in the company of others to develop connections across the American Wasteland; I developed these connections by helping others I deemed in need of my skills. Remember, I am ageless; I have had many years to do this. I traveled alone because I didn't want to get anyone else killed – not after Sylvie and Michael."

"Another family?" Tigress asked, placing a hand on David's shoulder.

David nodded in affirmation. "The last family I had before I went about traveling alone. Sylvie died giving birth to Michael... and Michael was dead before he was born." David sighed, rubbing his temple. "It seemed, back then, that I couldn't keep anyone alive. Not directly. So I traveled alone, only helped from afar. First-"

Tigress silenced David with a finger to his lips. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It was not my intention to bring up painful elements of your past."

David chuckled softly. "How could you have known?" he asked.

"Ignorance is no excuse to reopen old wounds," Tigress said. "It was never my intention to cause you pain. It was wrong of me, and I am sorry."

David sighed, then looked Tigress in the eyes. "You barely know me, yet you so willingly offer your comfort and kindness," he said. "I find myself wishing I'd met you a long time ago. You are kind to offer your apologies for digging in my past, and I thank you for your sympathy. It is a... rare trait, these days."

Tigress blushed slightly, then said in an effort to change the subject, "Three Dog's waiting; we should get moving." David nodded in acknowledgment, then materialized his helmet and headed into GNR. Tigress followed, materializing her own helmet. Truth was, she didn't want anyone to see in her eyes that she was starting to care for David. She felt that he'd been through so much alone, and deserved a companion at his side.

Her heart ached for his pain, and she wanted so badly to ease it...


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Tigress and David walked upstairs inside GNR while Sarah conversed with another Brotherhood of Steel Knight. Tigress wondered what Three Dog would want to ask her, given that he – according to Sarah – was dying to meet her. She pondered it as she followed David through the halls, and eventually walked up the stairs, stopping shy of a brown-furred canine. David dematerialized his helmet, and Tigress followed suit.

"Well, I'll be – the legendary Master Tigress herself!" the canine said. "Shit, David – you weren't kidding!" The canine extended a hand to shake. "Name's Three Dog – jockey of discs and teller of truths in the capital wasteland."

Tigress shook Three Dog's hand. "And I assume you already know who I am," she commented.

"Nope – just your name and what little bits of your history I gleaned from the few remaining books in the wasteland," Three Dog admitted. "I was hoping you could fill in some of the blanks."

"What did you want to know?" Tigress asked.

"For starters, you could tell me what it was like in that palace you lived in," Three Dog requested. Tigress sighed, then began recounting her life in the Jade Palace, starting with when she first arrived, then her training under Shifu, meeting the rest of the furious five one after another, then meeting Po, and culminating with the incident with Lord Shen and the aftermath of that event. Three Dog let loose a slow whistle when she finished. "That's a lot more then I thought I'd get," he said. "But there's one thing I don't get – how'd you end up in this shithole?"

"It... was an enemy I couldn't beat. A man who seemed to recognize me, though I know not how. He threw me through what David described as a Temporal Rift," Tigress sighed. "Before that, he'd haunted my dreams for weeks. I could scarcely get a good night's sleep without seeing his face."

"Did this jackass have a name?" Three Dog asked.

"The only name I knew him by was Eden," Tigress admitted, "But I don't know if-"

"Hold on a second," David interjected, "Did you just say the bastard who brought you here was named Eden?"

Tigress frowned, seeing both David and Three Dog had the exact same "what the fuck" look on their faces. "Y-yes, why?" she responded.

"Hold on a sec," Three Dog said, heading into one of the nearby rooms and returning with a photo. "That look like the man who threw you through that rift?" Tigress examined the photo – a man standing at a podium giving a speech. Upon a closer look, Tigress realized that the man giving the speech was the same man who brought her here.

"That's him," Tigress affirmed. "That's the man that brought me here. I called him Eden, and he confirmed it, if inadvertently."

"Well, I'll be damned," Three Dog said. "You met Eden! You met the President of the Enclave!"

Tigress frowned. "What...?" she whispered.

"Kid, it may surprise you to know that, from the records I gleaned from the wasteland, and eyewitness accounts from David here, that man has popped up all over the world – China, Japan, Russia, you name it, chances are, he's been there," Three Dog explained.

"Everywhere that man has popped up always had the same story – he shows up, builds an attack force, assaults someone, gets beaten off, and before the defenders can move to finish him off, he and his forces just up and disappear," David added.

"When that force came to America, we had no idea who he was, let alone who they were," Three Dog continued. "They had all the proper ID and whatnot back then, and insinuated themselves into the American Citizenry. Eden seemed like a great guy – it didn't surprise anyone when he ran for president. And won."

"You mean...?" Tigress asked, comprehension dawning.

David nodded. "That's right," he told Tigress. "Eden was elected as President under the name John. Henry. _Eden_. The official rise of the Enclave, and the corruption of America. When he was elected president, America became the Enclave. The rest of this story you know."

"Not all of it," Tigress said. "What happened to Eden? How did he survive the Apocalypse?"

"No one knows – certainly not I," David stated.

"You see, kid, while Eden remained president long after his terms expired, the public began to see less and less of him in person, and eventually, all we ever heard of him was his voice on the radio," Three Dog explained. "And he still talks to us – he has eyebots spreading his messages across the wasteland."

"The Enclave broadcast," Tigress surmised.

"Exactly," David said.

As much as Tigress wanted to find the source of the Enclave broadcast, she remembered David's advice – plan ahead, but deal with the plan one step at a time. "So... with all that now known to the three of us, what do we do? I understand you need a new Broadcast Relay, and that David has one on him," She said.

"Yeah – and it ain't gonna be an easy hike to the Washington Monument, where the Broadcast Relay needs to be installed. That whole area is infested with Super Mutants," Three Dog responded.

"Yeah," Tigress sighed, "I got the implication we need to clear them out first."

"It'd be a perfect time to hone your powers against live opponents – but try not to go hog-wild out there," David said.

"Oh, and speaking of that, I had something for you two. Hold on," Three Dog said. He retreated to another room, then returned with that looked like three curved blade hilts.

"Are those the...?" David asked.

"Yep – the Plasma Scimitars you were looking for. Jerry dropped them off, then left in a hurry," Three Dog answered. David took two of them and activated them, the curved, blue plasma blades coming to life instantly. Tigress took the third, and activated it on instinct. The crimson blade jumped out of the hilt immediately. Tigress twirled it, then held it reverse-gripped, and finally deactivated it and clipped it to her belt.

"You two might want to get going – sooner you install that new relay, sooner I can get back to passing on intel when needed," Three Dog suggested. Tigress and David nodded to each other, materialized their helmets, and made their way out of the GNR building, and back out into the ruins of DC. Tigress followed David through the metro, whacking some foolish raiders with the hunting rifles they'd nabbed earlier and god-only-knows how many ghouls with the plasma scimitars. When they emerged from the metro onto the place marked as "The Mall," they cautiously moved up the steps and got a good look at the Mall landscape.

"Damn," David whispered, "whole place is carved up. Reminds me of that trench-fighting shit I saw in history books dealing with the first World War."

"What happened during the first World War?" Tigress asked.

"Long story, not enough time," David answered. "There's too many Super Mutants to kill with our blades – others would just drill us from afar. We need to play this-"

While David was talking, Tigress saw an opportunity to thin the super mutants' numbers; a number of them were clustered around an ammo cache, and Tigress acted on instinct, using her mind to heat the ammo. In seconds, the whole cache exploded, sending bullets, shot pellets, and fire in every imaginable direction and shredding the super mutants where they stood.

"... Subtle, Tigress. Very subtle," David chuckled. Tigress could detect both humor and sarcasm in that comment, and smiled. But a bullet whizzing past her head broke the humorous moment between the two tigers, and the reason was plain to see: One of the super mutants spotted David and Tigress, and started shooting, and the others followed suit. Tigress was quick to raise the hunting rifle she'd had earlier, center the sight on the mutant's head, and let a bullet fly. The furless bastard took it between the eyes and dropped like a rock. Tigress shifted her aim and fired again, hitting dead-center on a mutant firing his archaic-looking machine gun wildly, hitting everything but his target. Tigress and David fired kill shots one after the other, till their hunting rifles were dry of ammo. When the last shot was fired and silence settled over the area, nearly a dozen super mutants lay dead on the Mall ground. Tigress cast her hunting rifle aside and materialized her Kalashnikov rifle, approaching the mutant that had the archaic machine gun. It had an absurdly wide barrel, a plate-shaped magazine, metallic hand grip, and wooden stock.

"How ironic," David commented as Tigress dematerialized her rifle and picked up the mutant's gun, "I speak of the first world war, and you kill a mutant that's armed with a gun from that era."

"If that's true, this gun would likely be very old," Tigress observed. "This rifle is in surprisingly good condition for such an archaic weapon."

"It'll make for a decent crowd-control weapon," David remarked as he picked up a more modern-looking light machine gun.

"What's that?" Tigress asked.

"PKM," David answered. "One of several Russian Light Machine Guns. This one appears to be in pristine condition." Tigress and David made their rounds, and recovered a wealth of ammo for their respective LMGs, plus a pair of frag grenades and three plasma grenades. As they were approaching the Washington monument, David asked, "Tell me one thing: How'd you ignite the ammo in the super mutants' ammo cache?"

"I don't know," Tigress admitted, "I acted on instinct."

David chuckled softly. "Dear friend, you've discovered by instinct the power of Pyrokinesis," he told her. "Not an everyday occurrence." They approached the base of the Washington monument, and halted before two brotherhood soldiers standing near a pair of mounted machine guns.

"I'm assuming you two are the ones who grabbed the muties' attention and slaughtered them?" one asked.

"That's right," David said. "We have the replacement dish for the broadcast relay."

"About time," the other commented. "Signal from GNR is getting weaker the more those muties shoot at the current dish."

"Well, I blew up their ammo and we cleared them out of the area, so they should be thinking twice before coming here again," Tigress said.

"Yeah, we know – we heard it clear over here," the first guard chuckled. "The look on those muties' faces when they were getting shredded by their own munitions... priceless."

"Well, sooner we get this thing installed, sooner GNR gets it's signal back," David said. "Can you open the door?"

"Sure," one of the soldiers responded, typing on a computer panel and opening the gate. Tigress and David stepped through the gate, and walked into the interior of the Washington Monument, stepped into a small room that looked to be made of brass, and David hit a button. Tigress was a bit startled when the room began to rumble, but when she looked to the ceiling, where a panel was half-off, she saw the room was actually moving _up_. The room made a _ding_ and the door opened, and Tigress and David moved into a room with a few large holes in one wall, which provided a clear view overlooking the Mall area. "I hate elevators," David commented.

A sniper's nest, Tigress realized as David set to work installing the new broadcast relay. She looked around the room, and spotted a bolt-action rifle with a scope, leaning against a wall next to four strip-away magazines of ammunition. Tigress slung her LMG and picked up the rifle.

"I forgot that was up here," David commented before he threw the switch and activated the relay. "Kar98K rifle, sniper variant. Bullets are rather large and powerful, but will put a super mutant flat on his ass in one hit. Hell, a head shot to an Enclave soldier will put him down for good."

"It's that powerful?" Tigress asked.

"It fires big bullets; 7.92x57mm rounds, specifically," David answered. "Not as powerful as a .50-caliber BMG round, however. One of those will take off any bodily extremity in one hit. Very powerful, very painful, and very, very messy."

"Note to self – avoid getting hit by a .50-caliber BMG round," Tigress said with a smile.

David chuckled. "Careful what you pick up from me, Tigress," he said. Tigress just laughed as she walked over to the hole in the wall overlooking the Mall area. She pointed her new sniper rifle at a random location in the mall, adjusting the scope, and paused when she saw something.

"David," Tigress asked as she tracked three rodent men dressed in black armor with an eagle's talon painted onto it, "Do Enclave forces wear black armor with a talon painted on the front?"

David scoffed, "No, that's Talon Company, why-" He stopped midsentence, comprehension dawning. "Which direction they heading?" he asked.

"Toward this monument," Tigress reported. She looked down at where the two brotherhood of steel guards were supposed to be at, and noticed a problem. "... and our brotherhood friends aren't where they're supposed to be."

David materialized a bolt-action rifle of his own and peered down at the advancing Talon Company team. One of them looked up and pointed at David and Tigress's location. "Oh, yeah – they're after us," David said. "Which one do you want?"

"I'll take the stupid one that pointed at us rather than leaving us gawking in confusion like he should have," Tigress answered. She settled the sight over her target's head, and waited...

Something caused the Talon Company team to jump in surprise, weapons raised. Tigress made split-second calculations and let a bullet fly. The Mauser round flew straight and true, bursting through the bastard's helmet and splattering the contents of his head all over the legs and feet of his cohort. David fired at the same time, taking another of the Talon Company mercs, but his bullet took off his target's head. Tigress and David operated the bolt on their respective rifles, took aim, and fired for the last Talon merc. The merc took two different bullets to the head, and his head simply exploded into a mess of blood, brains, and shattered skull.

"Nice shot," Tigress and David said to each other simultaneously. They both looked to one another, laughed, and stared at each other for a few moments, before they went back down the elevator. When they walked out of the Washington monument, a brotherhood knight in power armor was examining the dead mercs.

"I assume you're responsible for this mess?" he asked.

"Guilty as charged," Tigress and David again stated simultaneously. The knight chuckled.

"What, are you two a couple, now?" he inquired, turning over one of the bodies. "Well, well... Talon Company. You two did a number on these guys," the Knight commented.

"Did they have anything useful?" David asked.

Indicating Tigress's kill, then David's, the Knight answered, "This one had an aye-kay seventy-four, three mags of ammo, that one had an em-sixteen, two mags of ammo, but this one..." He paused to indicate the merc whose head was exploded. "... had an ACR, four mags, and this," he handed David a piece of paper he'd been carrying. David read the note, then looked at Tigress.

"Well, we were right – they came for us. Or, more specifically, for _you_," he said. He handed the note to Tigress, who then read it:

_"__The tiger known as Tigress has been sighted in the Capital Wasteland. Kill her, and be richly rewarded. Failure will not be tolerated. When Tigress is dead, bring me her head as proof of the deed. Payment will ONLY be released for a RECOGNIZABLE HEAD. No negotiating. -Gen. Autumn"_

Tigress frowned. "Who's General Autumn?" she asked.

"President Eden's right hand. Where Eden is the voice, Autumn is typically seen as the power in the Enclave. Vicious bastard and a fucking lunatic," David explained. "But, as much as I would love to explain the history behind Autumn, we need to get back to GNR."

After taking the Talon mercs' weapons and ammo, Tigress and David retraced their steps back to GNR, where Three Dog was waiting. "Hee hee!" he laughed with glee, "GNR is back! That'll give Eden and those muties something to think about!"

"I reinforced the dish with some scrap armor and slapped an energy shield on it, so you should have no further problems with signal," David reported.

"And I made sure the super mutants had no ammo to shoot it with, but we have another problem," Tigress added.

"Talon Company, I know," Three Dog responded. "Your contact sent me a message twelve minutes ago saying they're mobilizing. Eden's put a price on your head, kiddo."

"We know," David said, "But it seems Eden doesn't know I'm with her, and we may be able to use that to our advantage."

"Yeah... By the way, your contact also requested you meet him in Rivet City, in the market," Three Dog stated.

"Who is this contact?" Tigress asked.

"Old friend of mine, Dusty," David answered. "Did he say when to meet him?"

"Nope – just told me to tell you to head to the Rivet City Marketplace, and he'll find you," Three Dog responded. "But I wouldn't go now – between the muties, raiders, and those Talon Company fuckers, you'd be better off ducking in here for the night. Head out in the morning."

"Officer thinking, Three Dog," David complimented. "Might as well nab a bite to eat while we're here, too."

Three Dog looked to Tigress. "Care for a Salisbury Steak?" he asked.

Tigress frowned in confusion. "What's a Salisbury Steak?" she queried.

"You'll like it, trust me," Three Dog responded, digging into his fridge. Tigress dematerialized her helmet as she sat down with David. She watched as Three Dog got cooking, and her hand inadvertently brushed David's. She blushed, but didn't look at him, pretending not to know.

Switching her thoughts to another subject, she began wondering how Eden had survived so many centuries – and how he knew she was here. Did he have the same equipment for detecting Temporal Anomalies, like David did? It seemed to be the only explanation that fit.

And if that was so, Tigress wondered what else the sinister Eden had up his sleeve...

(More to follow. I'll stay in touch.)


	6. Chapter 5

(Thank you everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited and followed this story. You make writing this story worthwhile. Cheers!)

Chapter Five

Tigress was gently shaken awake. "Tigress, wake up," David's voice said. "Talon company's taking a break from their search – if we move now, we can possibly slip past them unnoticed! Wake up!"

Tigress awoke, quickly got prepped, and she and David headed out. But instead of arming herself with the Kalashnikov rifle David had given her in Megaton, she armed herself with the ACR that the two had nicked off the Talon Company mercs that came looking for her. It had a nice feel, adjustable stock, and a hybrid sight system. Plus, it was in a pristine condition – rare for most of the weapons she and David came across in the Capital Wasteland.

They left GNR early in the morning, well before the sun began to rise. Moving quietly and following David's lead, Tigress followed him across the ruins of DC, stopping every so often to check for threats and to hide from enemy sentries. But before long, they'd slipped through Talon company's lines and made their way to Rivet City – a beached ship that David called an Aircraft Carrier. They moved up the ramps, waited for the bridge to extend, crossed it, and headed into the bustling Rivet City Marketplace. They paused just inside the entrance.

"Do you see him?" Tigress asked.

"Nope – but we may as well grab a bite at the bar while we're in here," David responded. They slung their weapons, and moved into the varied felines, canines, rodents, reptiles and avians that all populated the marketplace. David and Tigress sat next to each other at the bar counter, ordered some food, and kept an eye out for the contact Tigress knew only as "Dusty".

And they didn't have to wait long; midway into their breakfast meal, a young, Grey-furred cyote sat next to David. "Been a long time, David," he said in a voice hushed so that only Tigress and David could hear him.

"Likewise, Dusty," David responded. "Still driving that decked-out truck?"

"Damn right, I am," Dusty chuckled. "Heard you found a friend."

"Does he know who I am, too?" Tigress asked.

"No, actually, I don't – and I don't care. If David trusts you, that's good enough for me," Dusty said.

"So what do you have?" David asked. "Last report you gave me said you'd found the part I needed for the device."

"I did, but there's a problem," Dusty said.

"What's the catch?" David inquired.

"Enclave's after this thing too – they're all stirred up, lately. Something about Eden, but I don't know what," Dusty explained.

"So we need to beat the Enclave to this part," Tigress surmised. "What is it?"

"It's an advanced-design power supply, typically used in massive machines that require a lot of power to run. It can be adapted to David's device, but you need to get it before the Enclave does," Dusty answered.

"And where is it?" David asked.

"Inside one Vault 82," Dusty answered. "But the main entrance is in a heavily-irradiated area, and the door itself is inoperative."

"Well, this keeps getting better," Tigress commented.

"So how do we get inside?" David inquired.

"Thought you'd ask," Dusty said, handing David a map. "There's a secondary entrance in a place known as Lamplight Caverns; last report said it was infested by armed kids, but that was months ago. The vault itself, we think, is infested with Super Mutants."

"We?" Tigress repeated. "Who's we?"

"My allies in the Capital Wasteland," David clarified. "Who's to say the Enclave hasn't already cleared out the area?"

"Recent reports say they're holding back, for some reason – we don't know why," Dusty answered.

David studied the map, scanned it to his armor computer and sent a copy to Tigress, then said, "Looks like we're off, then."

"Hold on, there, cowboy," Dusty said, "Let's not go off half-cocked; you need to hit a few places of Enclave interest to distract them before you head for Vault 82."

"Wulf, you know I admire your tenacity, but this is no time-"

"Ah, ah," Dusty interrupted, "Hitting these places will also be doing me a few favors; remember, you still owe me for New York."

David sighed, "You picked a hell of a time to call that in, Dusty. What do you need?"

"First place you're hitting is Alexandria Arms," Dusty said. "Enclave's contracted your pals from Talon Company to remove any and all useable and serviceable weapons from the premises; you're going to beat them to it, get whatever weapons those emitters can store, thermite-trap the rest for Talon Company to find, then take the weapons with you; after you hit the other two places, you'll be taking them to a marked trailer in an abandoned lot."

"How will it be marked?" Tigress asked.

"David will recognize the mark when he sees it – just look for the orange trailer," Dusty responded. "Next, you're going to hit the Lincoln Memorial, where the Enclave has set up a staging ground. Just whack every motherfucker in power armor you see. Lastly, there's an Enclave supply depot near the abandoned lot where you'll be dropping the weapons; pick up extra explosives from the lot, then bomb the depot and high-tail it out of there before the Enclave can react."

"How will this distract them?" Tigress asked. "Seems all we'll really be doing is pissing them off and harming their overall position here in the capital wasteland."

"If Enclave interests are suddenly being attacked, they'll send troops to shore up their defenses and prevent any more losses," David explained. "The diverting of their troops will be our advantage, as they'll be headed away from our goal. By the time they realize it was a feint, we'll be long gone, and will have taken that power supply with us."

"Once we have that power supply, where will we be taking it to?" Tigress asked.

"That's a much longer journey," David said. "Dusty here's gonna take us the first part of the way. We'll be heading west – to New Vegas."

"Well, we can deal with that wen we get to it," Tigress stated, "How soon do we head out?"

"The sooner, the better," Dusty responded. "You need to distract the Enclave, then get to Vault 82 through Lamplight Caverns and get out with the power supply before the Enclave realizes what you're doing."

David nodded. "Very well," he said. "We have our heading; let's move before they do." David paid for the meals, and he, Tigress and Wulf all headed out of the Marketplace, never once casting a glance back at the man in tattered clothes speaking into a gauntlet radio...

Tigress and David moved through DC's southwestern edges, keeping an eye out for Talon mercs, Enclave troops, Raiders or Super Mutants. So far none of them had made any move against them, making Tigress and David wonder just where the hell they were. Tigress still had that Winchester 101, while David had switched to the rifle he had when they left Megaton – the one with the odd magazine configuration and the secondary plasma weapon integrated into the weapon's frame.

During this trip, Tigress decided to break the silence. "David... do you have any sort of title?" she asked.

"Title? What, like an honorary nickname? One of those names people call you because of something you did?" David responded, somewhat confused.

"Yeah – do you have any sort of Nickname?" Tigress queried.

"Well, Enclave knows me as Twinblade – god knows why," David explained. "I was just caught in a melee fight with a few of their off-duty personnel; I used a pair of scimitars I scavenged from a museum to defend myself. Ever since then, the Enclave has called me Twinblade."

"Twinblade, huh?" Tigress chuckled. "Well, the only nickname I got that comes close to that is Master Tigress. The people of my homeland call me that because I am a Kung Fu Master of the Jade Palace."

David laughed. "Don't start fawning, Tigress; I'm not someone you need to impress or anything like that."

Tigress at first thought David was being serious, but shortly got the joke, and made a friendly jest of her own:

"And who says I'm fawning, jackass?" She joked. David laughed heartily. "For the record, though," Tigress continued, "I implied my nickname isn't quite as good as yours because I got mine over a lifetime of training and meditation; you got your name in a day defending yourself from Enclave forces. Add to that, that you survived the apocalypse, and survived the wasteland for two hundred years, and-"

"Quiet," David shushed her. "Alexandria Arms is up ahead."

Tigress quieted immediately and saw the building – surprisingly intact, with the outline of "Alexandria" still visible. Tigress materialized her Kalashnikov rifle, and she and David cautiously approached the building.

As far as sensors were concerned, there was no movement in the area. Did they beat Talon Company here? David and Tigress moved for the door, taking up positions on either side of it. Examining the door at a glance, Tigress saw it was a pull door – meaning the door swung out toward her direction, not in. David materialized a flashbang, and Tigress got the idea. She opened the door quickly, and David threw the device in. He and Tigress then quickly looked away, the armor they both wore protecting their ears from the deafening _bang_ as the flashbang went off. The armored tigers quickly moved in, ready to drill whoever...

As Tigress and David entered the room, they noticed it was devoid of life. There was no one inside the Alexandria Arms lobby but them. "What the hell...?" Tigress murmured. She saw a mess of sadistic decorations and mutilated bodies that David had taught her were common in Raider hideouts, but her armor sensors read all clear. No hostile presence anywhere in the fifteen meter radius around her.

She expected to come across raiders, baying for their blood, or Talon Company, trying to pack up all the weapons. A _lot_ of them. So where the hell _were_ they?

"I don't like this," Tigress commented. "Where are the weapons located?"

"Ordinarily, the raiders will keep them somewhere deep inside a facility like this," David answered. "Come on – sooner we get this done, sooner we can move on."

Tigress followed David through a maze of empty halls, silent rooms, and eerie chambers. They finally found their way to a series of racks where a large number of weapons sat – rifles, pistols, machine guns, and even melee weapons. Tigress picked one up, a katana hilt, and activated it. Immediately, a white plasma blade with a black core jumped out of the blade. David paused, as though shocked.

"Those are unbelievably rare – only three were ever made before the war," he said. "I'd keep that if I were you."

Tigress dematerialized it, and began dematerializing the weapons. It took Tigress and David a full ten minutes to max out their emitters' storage capacity with weapons, and David thermite-trapped what was left, and they made a hasty departure, never once casting a glance to a corner of the ceiling, where a surveillance camera watched them with a blinking red light.

(I apologize for the delay. I will be working on the next chapter and will have it posted just as fast as I can without compromising story quality.)


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It took Tigress and David several hours to reach the Lincoln Memorial, where they discovered it to be as empty as Alexandria Arms. The Enclave presence was nonexistent, but their equipment was still scattered about the area, as though they had suddenly dropped everything and left. It was an eerily quiet scene.

Since the sun was setting, Tigress and David made their way to another of David's hideouts – an office building overlooking the Lincoln Memorial – and made camp there. David kept an eye on the memorial to see if the Enclave forces would return. So far, they hadn't. It was while Tigress and David were eating dinner that Tigress asked,

"David... what happened in New York that put you in debt with Dusty?"

"It was one of those rare incidents that someone had to pull _my _ass out of the fire," David responded. He stabbed his fork into his Brahmin Steak and cut around it with his knife, then munched the piece of meat he'd cut off. "I met Dusty prior to my stint in New York City; he was the one who ferried me to NYC in the first place. He and I helped a New California Republic expedition go there; Dusty drove the truck, I handled on-board security, and the NCR troops handled the escort."

"Who are the New California Republic? Are they good guys?" Tigress asked.

"They're like the Enclave, dedicated to the ideals of democracy, freedom, and rule of law, but absent of the Enclave's corruption and immoralities," David explained, "So yes, they're good guys."

"So... what happened in New York?" Tigress inquired, taking a bite of her noodles with traditional chop sticks.

"Well, we got to the city, thought it looked like hell, and went about setting up an outpost. What we didn't know was that there were a lot of hostiles in there – ghouls, raiders, and, best of all, descendants of Russian Communists that had survived in the New York Metro tunnels," David elaborated, "We had to tangle with the Ghouls and Raiders to get anywhere – supplies, weapons, parts, you name it. It wasn't until the Commies attacked that things really started falling apart."

"How long were you and Dusty in New York with the NCR?" Tigress inquired. She took a drink from the cola that she'd nabbed from the raiders back at the shopping store outside Megaton as David made his response.

"I met Dusty at the start of that journey, which took two months because of the deplorable conditions of the roads, and then we stayed there for five months before the NCR expedition was slaughtered in a Communist attack," David said. "Dusty and I were the only survivors. He pulled my ass out of the fire during the attack, drove me to a depot, where we commandeered an old MI24 Hind that, somehow, was still working, and got the hell out of there."

"That's... terrible," Tigress said, placing a hand on David's. "But I won't force you to say any more."

"Not much more to tell – as I said, that's one of those rare incidents where someone else had to pull _my_ ass out of the fire. At any rate, Dusty and I stuck together – so to speak – ever since," David responded, "And I'm wondering why, all of a sudden, he's calling that old debt in now. What does he need with-" David stopped midsentence, noticing Tigress's hand holding his. He looked between Tigress and their interlocked hands, and back. "You realize, you're the first woman since Sylvie to hold my hand like that?"

"So?" Tigress asked. "Everyone needs a little comfort now and then – even an ageless warrior like you. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm right here."

David smiled and chuckled. "You are kind to offer, Tigress. But I got over the incident in New York years ago."

Tigress smiled and chuckled herself. He was so much like her. Strong. Tough. Resilient. Intelligent. She wondered what fate had in store for the two of them – would they be...? She was surprised to feel him tighten his grip on her hand.

"You're a kind woman, Tigress," He said softly. "And I am sorry if I seem... volatile. Violent. Living in the wasteland for two hundred-"

Tigress silenced him with a finger to his lips. "You are no more volatile or violent than I was, long ago. The longer I stay with you, the more I realize we have in common," she said. David was about to speak when he and Tigress both looked to the doorway. Tigress felt an ominous sense that something was _wrong_.

"I sense it, too," David told Tigress, feeling the same sense of approaching danger. They both materialized their armor and their rifles loaded with depleted-uranium rounds. No sooner than this did a plasma explosion downstairs rock the building. Tigress and David moved into the hall, weapons ready, fully expecting an Enclave ambush. They waited no more than ten seconds on opposite sides of the hall when two Enclave troopers came around a corner, one armed with a flamethrower, the other a plasma rifle. Tigress, seeing that the one soldier's flamethrower could potentially cause her and David problems, even with their energy shielding, took aim for it and fired. The depleted-uranium rounds burst through the weapon, not only rendering it useless, but igniting it and causing it to explode. The force of the explosion knocked both the soldiers out, and sprayed the immediate area with fire.

"Nice shot," David commented, "But now we have to get out of here before we're burned alive."

Tigress said nothing as she and David took a detour around the flames, making their way to the door and shooting any Enclave bastard that came near them. Once outside, they were faced with a contingent of Enclave troops and an antenna array. Tigress was suddenly hit with an instinct, deep in her mind. She activated the black plasma katana she had picked up at Alexandria Arms, dispatching the Enclave forces with machine efficiency, and the last soldier defied her advance on the antenna array. Acting on her instinct, she launched her hand forward, fingers outstretched, and sent a blast of lightning into the man and the array. The electric attack fried the array, and the Enclave soldier, wearing all metal armor, shook and writhed violently in pain, and collapsed. It was then that the instinct ended, and Tigress finally looked around, seeing herself standing amongst one-and-a-half dozen corpses. David stood at the edge of the battle, clapping his hands softly, as though amused.

"Congratulations, Tigress – you've discovered the power of electrokenisis... the ability to manipulate and emit electricity from your body," he said.

"We'd better clear out of here – before the Enclave comes looking for these bastards," Tigress stated. She deactivated the black plasma katana, dematerialized it, and materialized her Kalashnikov rifle, then followed David away from the Lincoln Memorial, never once casting a glance back to see the building she inadvertently set fire to collapse on itself. And standing before it was a man in a lightly-colored coat with a weathered pistol in a custom holster. He smiled and chuckled as he watched them leave the area.

"We will meet soon enough, Master Tigress. Soon enough," he said to her, as though she could hear him.

Tigress and David moved through the ruins of DC under cover of darkness, never stopping to rest. With the memory of the Enclave ambush fresh on their minds, they headed for the abandoned lot, where they were greeted by the sight of multiple trailers, several of them orange. Several of them were labeled "Schneider National", and only a handful of them had the words barely visible. One of them had a truck still attached.

"What the hell...?" David murmured.

"What's wrong?" Tigress asked.

"That's Dusty's truck," David said. "What is he-" He stopped midsentence when he saw the truck's headlights flashing seemingly at random. "... Dusty, you clever bastard," David said.

"What is it?" Tigress asked.

"The truck's lights aren't flashing at random – it's Morse code," David said. "Dusty's sending us a message."

"What's it say?" Tigress queried. David was silent, working to translate the code, then responded,

"He's telling us to turn on GNR," David said. Both Tigress and David turned on their radios, tuning in to GNR, where Three Dog's voice was immediately heard:

_"__... It is I, Three Dog, your ruler! Hear me and obey! Oh, that's that _other_radio station. You kids ready for the Capital Wasteland's latest news? Me neither, but it's that time again... I've been getting reports of armor-clad stormtroopers moving all over the wasteland; they mobilized right around noon today, and according to reports, one group is on a manhunt for a gal known as T. Priznat, while the other group headed for one Vault 82. Hope they don't mind the muties that have taken up residence there!"_

"Damn, that's not good," David said. "They're onto us; we need to hit Vault 82 ASAP. If the Enclave is aware of our plans, they'll be scrambling over each other to get to Vault 82 before us." David went over to Dusty's truck and trailer, and he and Tigress hurriedly deposited the weapons they lifted from Alexandria Arms and made for Vault 82 double-time.

David and Tigress hurried to Vault 82, fearing they were already too late. They arrived at Lamplight Caverns, only to find that the children that reportedly ran the place weren't there. Tigress and David moved through the children's town, to the rear gate, which had been left open. Damn. They headed through the area of the cavern which had apparently been infested with Super Mutants, all of whom were dead, and toward the underground entrance to Vault 82. It was as they came upon the entrance that they came across a pitched firefight between Enclave forces and the super mutants guarding the entrance.

Tigress and David wasted little time dispatching both groups, then entering Vault 82. Tigress saw extensive damage, but was David who said what they both were thinking:

"Well, this vault's gone to hell."

"Where do we start looking for the power supply?" Tigress asked.

"It'll likely be down by the reactor," David said, approaching one door with the words "Reactor" posted above the doorway. He accessed a control panel, then groaned in irritation. "This door's been sealed due to a radiation leak; if I remember correctly, the only way to override the seal is from the computer in the Overseer's office; come on."

Tigress followed David into the dimly-lit depths of Vault 82, neutralizing one super mutant after another. They moved into the upper levels, where there was another complication: The overseer's office door was locked. While David looked around for a key to open it, Tigress was hit with that same instinct she felt when she found her electrokenisis. She tapped into that power, manipulated the door circuitry, and found and released the door lock.

David looked from the now-open door to Tigress and back. "Okay, now I'm impressed." As the two headed into the overseer's office, and David accessed the computer, David asked, "If you can do that to the overseer's office, why didn't you do that at the reactor door?"

Tigress chuckled in response, "It didn't occur to me at the time that I could do that."

"Got it!" David proclaimed. "Reactor level door's open; let's get in there, nab that power supply, and get the hell out of dodge!"

Tigress and David doubled back, headed through the open door to the reactor level, killing off the few super mutants remaining in that level, and finally arrived at another door. David accessed a nearby computer, then commented, "Good thing you and I are immune to radiation; the room where the power supply is located is flooded with lethal levels of radiation."

"Well, let's go get it – this place gives me the creeps," Tigress suggested. David opened the door, and he and Tigress moved through the halls of radiation, into the main reactor room, where Tigress followed David as he went to and removed the power supply they needed. Tigress stored the cylindrical item in her emitters, and she and David headed back the way they came. It wasn't until they reached the antechamber before the reactor room door that they ran into a serious problem:

Before they could react, a device dropped onto the floor and detonated in a blinding flash of light. Tigress and David both were caught off-guard by the blast. But the device was designed to incapacitate – they felt no pain, but were rendered motionless. Tigress could only watch helplessly as a feline man with a lightly-colored coat and a weathered pistol in a custom holster came striding through a nearby door, kneeling beside Tigress.

"Master Tigress, I presume?" he asked, his accent having something of a slang drawl to it. "It's high time we met. President Eden has been itching to make your acquaintance, as well." He looked to the soldiers in power armor now arriving. "Get that power supply, and make sure it is secured aboard my Vertibird. And secure these two there, as well."

As Tigress began to lose consciousness, she looked to David. To her shame, she failed him, and they both now were in the hands of their hated enemy.

Captured by the Enclave...


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Tigress's head swirled as she slowly came back to consciousness. What happened? The last thing she could remember... oh, no, she thought. She couldn't feel her armor! The Enclave forces that had captured her must have taken it!

Tigress opened her eyes and found that not only was she in a force field restraint, but she'd been stripped of everything but her clothes. At least the Enclave had the sense to leave her modesty intact.

"Finally awake, are we?" chuckled a smug voice she knew all too well. "Good. In case no one told you, I am General Autumn." Tigress looked up and saw Autumn with his sidearm drawn and a smug smile on his face.

"What the hell's going on, here?" Tigress demanded.

"I'll tell you what's going on; we won," Autumn said.

"Where's David?" Tigress asked. Autumn simple gestured beside Tigress.

"See for yourself," he said. Tigress looked over to see David, still breathing, but weakened from what appeared to be electric shock torture. "Now, I'm gonna make this real simple; you're going to tell me whose armor houses the power supply unit we need, and you're going to tell me now."

"Tigress... tell... tell him... nothing..." David grunted.

"Poor lad. David's had quite the interrogation. I don't know if he can withstand any more punishment," Autumn said. "Now let's see how resilient you are." He threw a switch, and painful arcs of electricity began zipping through Tigress's body. She bared her teeth and growled, resisting the pain as much as she could. But as soon as it started, it stopped. "Now, that was just a taste of what is to come. How severe each subsequent treatment is will depend on how you answer. Now, whose armor houses the power supply unit we need, and how do we retrieve it?"

"Fuck off, maniac!" Tigress spat.

"As you wish," Autumn sighed, then activated the torture device. Tigress winced in pain, and even yelped a little. "Tell me where the power unit is!"

"In your ass, fuckhead," Tigress chuckled. She swore she heard David chuckle weakly before Autumn tortured her again.

"My patience wears thin," Autumn growled.

"Go fuck yourself," Tigress growled back.

"Perhaps you need a reminder of the penalty for defying me?" Autumn asked, activating the torture device. When Tigress felt the intense electrical pain, something was different – she felt something, a part of her she was unaware of. It grew more prevalent the more she was in pain.

"TELL ME HOW TO ACCESS THE POWER UNIT!" Autumn yelled.

"Poor General Autumn... President Eden will not be pleased," Tigress taunted him. In a fit of anger, Autumn activated the torture device. When Tigress felt the pain, the other part of her surged forward, and she screamed in a fit of enraged power. She sent electrical arcs of her own into the restraints, which then traveled to David's, then to the power conduit in the ceiling of the room, causing it to explode. Tigress and David dropped to the floor, both of them with eyes glowing red with malevolent power. With a simple gesture, their armor, which had been sitting nearby amidst a band of now-terrified scientists that had been analyzing them, flew onto them. The energy shields flared on as Enclave soldiers came charging in, with Autumn nowhere in sight David and Tigress mercilessly dispatched the soldiers in power armor with their plasma blades alone. When their rage ended, Tigress and David were standing amidst at least a dozen corpses in power armor, with the Enclave scientists trembling in fear and terror.

Tigress's head was awash in anger and rage. She could feel it permeating her very being. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, the presence of Enclave personnel, all screamed at her – this was the heart of Eden's power. And she was determined to kill Eden for taking her home from her, for destroying her family, her way of life.

Tigress felt David's hand on her shoulder. "Tigress, we need to get going."

"No," Tigress coldly proclaimed. "We're gonna find Eden... and I'm gonna rip that rat bastard's heart out of his chest!"

There was a pause before David said, "We can't be thinking on revenge if we want to get out of here alive."

"Then we can at least set this place to blow sky-high before we leave," Tigress growled. David audibly sighed.

"That, I can agree with – it will at least throw the Enclave into disarray," he said. "But we'd need to get to the reactor – come on."

David and Tigress moved into the adjacent hallway, finding themselves in the detention block. Tigress was quick to materialize her Kalashnikov rifle, while David materialized his own rifle. No sooner than when they were armed did an Enclave officer appear around the corner, and, seeing two armored tigers that clearly weren't supposed to be out of their cells, to say nothing about how they were armed, shouted the alarm. Tigress raised her rifle and put a quick burst into the man's chest. The bastard dropped before he could even draw his sidearm.

But the gunfire must have alerted nearby guards. One of them apparently slapped an alarm button, because the base alarm began to blare. Tigress's helmet filtered out the alarm, allowing her to focus. She and David shot the two guards who came around the corner, and were about to move out when a voice cried out from one of the cells,

"David? David, is that you?"

"What the hell...?" David murmured. Tigress followed David to a cell where a female Coyote with a slight, but noticeable lump in her belly lay on an operating table. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was pregnant. "Darcy?!" David exclaimed, "Darcy, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Good to see you, too, David – but now simply isn't the time to chat! Please, get me out of here before the Enclave doctors get back!" Darcy pleaded.

"Hold on – you _know_ her?" Tigress asked.

"She's Dusty's wife," David responded as he removed Darcy's restraints.

"... Oh," Tigress mumbled, her suspicions of David and Darcy wiped from her mind. David turned to Tigress. "I need to get Darcy to safety – can I trust you not to go hog-wild on your way to the reactor?"

As much as Tigress wanted her vengeance, she couldn't – and wouldn't – bring herself to disobey what David had taught her. "You can trust me, _tovarishch_," she told him. She imagined David smiled as he told her,

"Once I get Darcy to safety, I'll come back for you – I promise."

Tigress gently tapped her helmet on David's. "You already did," she told him. She quickly hurried off, before her heart compelled her to do anything else. She could faintly hear David getting in contact with Dusty, but ten minutes and nearly three dozen dead Enclave troops later, all she could hear was the reactor. And standing at that reactor was some sort of cyborg. And as Tigress approached it, she noticed it was constructed in a way that resembled...

"So you have arrived – both sooner, and yet, much later, than I expected," Eden's voice said.

"Eden..." Tigress said, not as a question of confusion, but confirmation of what she suspected was truth.

"Yes," Eden affirmed. "See what I have done? See what I am forced to do to survive?"

"What happened to you? To your body?" Tigress asked.

"In the years after I cast you through time, my power grew – so much, in fact, that I became immortal. But there was a price – as my power grew, my body became gradually more frail," Eden explained, "There are those that say that my power corrupted my flesh. Given our current circumstances, they were somewhat correct – By my second term as America's president, I was forced to abandon my organic body completely, transferring my brain and my consciousness to this cyborg body."

"Why did you destroy the world?" Tigress demanded. "Why did you attack us?"

"Attack you? You misunderstand, Tigress – when I came to America, I had a mass of followers, but not nearly enough to carve out my own empire, as I had wanted to do from the start," Eden elaborated. "Every place I tried to build, the locals pushed me back – Moscow, Berlin, Paris... No one would allow my ideologies to flourish. But in America, new ideologies were encouraged. It was a perfect place to build an empire with which to put an end to the wars that raged across the planet. Now the war with China? With your home land? They had been corrupted by the Communist regime, accusing America of being the corrupt country. Clearly, as evidenced by their eventual defeat, they were wrong. The regrettable exchange of Nuclear Warheads was China's last attempt to destroy the new America I had created. The rest you know."

"How did I fit in?" Tigress queried. "When we first met, you seemed to already know who I was."

"You are the one I had a vision about – the Tiger that would destroy me and my followers. I had to fight you, destroy you, to preserve my followers and life," Eden replied. "But, as we both know, I got overconfident; I made the mistake of casting you through time. I had originally thought you forever cast adrift on the currents of time, but in the centuries since then, I grew more and more worried, regretting not killing you from the start, and wondering when and where you would reappear. How ironic that you should appear right on my doorstep in the Capital Wasteland."

With the rest of the grand picture now assembled, Tigress was overcome with anger. She saw the faces of her dead friends, her family... the people she protected. She could almost hear their screams as they were destroyed by the warheads that had scorched the earth. It once again fell to her to do what no one else could.

She dematerialized her rifle and equipped her black-plasma katana, holding it reverse-gripped as she ignited it. She dematerialized her armor, revealing her original clothes she had worn when Eden first cast her through time.

"So... that's the way it's going to be..." Eden sighed.

"You took my home from me, Eden... seems fitting I take your life!" Tigress growled angrily.

"And who are _you_ to take _my_ life, when clearly, I am the best chance this world has to get back to it's former glory?" Eden demanded.

"Who am I? My name... is Tigress... Priznat! _And I will have! My! REVENGE!_" Tigress screamed, lunging in to assault the cyborg Eden. Eden ignited a plasma blade of his own, and the duel was joined. And just as it had been when they first fought, Eden could not predict Tigress's moves. She viciously assaulted Eden, and refused to let up. Blows between them were deflected, slashes redirected, attacks blocked. Tigress fought with the anger and rage she felt, but couldn't take Eden down, just as it had been before. There was a pause in the fighting, where Tigress held her blade at the ready, but Eden didn't attack.

_Remember who you are, Tigress,_ David's voice told her, _Remember the people you come from._ Tigress pondered this fractionally, and recognized that this wasn't her. She was letting her anger control her. She couldn't do that. She hated Eden for what he did, but she couldn't let that cloud her judgment.

But she had to defeat Eden. For Po. For Tai Lung. For all those she lost. But most of all, for David, who waded into that irradiated cloud to save her when they first met. Upon remembering him, she found a curious strength that wasn't there before. An inner peace she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Your corruption ends here, Eden," She said calmly.

"The only thing that ends here is your life!" Eden exclaimed. The battle was once again joined, but Tigress maintained her inner calm and peace, and finally saw her chance; she leapt over and behind, then blasted Eden with lightning, which served to stun him; Tigress then telekinetically lifted him and threw him into a console. Warning sirens blared as a mechanized voice said,

_"__Warning! Warning! Critical power safeties have been disengaged! Please vacate the immediate area!"_

Tigress approached Eden, but he rose to one knee and telekinetically pushed Tigress away. Even cybernetic, Eden still had his power.

"You harness immense power – but you lack the purity of will to direct it!" he growled. Rising to two feet, he blasted Tigress with Lightning, which Tigress absorbed in her black-plasma katana. They rapidly closed the distance, where, once they were in close proximity, Tigress did a double-spin, passing Eden with the first and landing a blow to his spine, stopping with her weapon held ready with the second.

Eden tried to get up, but couldn't, and said, "I will not be contained, I cannot be redeemed; death is all that remains, and you will not kill me!"

"You've underestimated me for the last time," Tigress said. She twirled her blade, and finally, put an end to the abomination known as John Henry Eden. She extinguished her blade, turning to leave and seeing David standing in the doorway. He didn't say anything – just a nod, a signal of respect.

"If I must die, everything dies with me!" Eden's voice echoed across the base. Tigress and David sprinted away, past the fleeing Enclave soldiers and scientists, past the inert automatons, and out to a waiting helicopter which Dusty was piloting. Tigress and David hurried on, and the archaic-looking chopper hurried away from the Enclave base, buried inside what was known as Raven Rock. Tigress looked back in time to see the base erupt into one massive, fiery explosion.

It was done. Eden and the Enclave were no more. The wasteland was free from the Enclave's corruption. Tigress's revenge, even though she took it in David's name, was complete.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Dusty flew the MI24 Hind chopper, while David, Tigress and Darcy rode in the back. Dusty flew it all the way to Megaton, where Tigress's adventures with David first started. And waiting at Megaton was a heroes' welcome. Fireworks detonated in the sky, bonfires were lit in the night, and everyone celebrated the downfall of Eden and the Enclave. Hell, even a number of Brotherhood of Steel knights and paladins – Sarah included – joined the celebration.

Well into the night, the celebration continued, even as David and Tigress retired from the dancing and entertainment. Tigress approached David from behind as he was leaning against a rail next to his house, looking at playing children below. And amidst those playing children was Dusty. Tigress couldn't help but smile at the sight, even as she wrapped an arm around David's. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she commented, "He'd make an excellent father."

"That he would," David agreed. "But you saw his wife's condition – he already is a father. He just doesn't know it, yet."

Tigress chuckled to herself, and noticed Darcy approaching Dusty. She couldn't hear what was said, but it was obvious she told Dusty of his impending fatherhood when he looked at her belly, then her eyes, then hugged and kissed her. Tigress felt happy, having brought one family together. David and Darcy waved to Tigress and David as they held each other in their arms – a gesture that Tigress and David returned.

"We'd better get some rest; we'll need to resupply, and Dusty will take us through the first leg of our next journey in the morning," David told Tigress. "Remember – now that we have the power unit we needed, we still have to get across the American Wasteland to reach Las Vegas, near the west coast."

"What kind of dangers are we expecting on that run?" Tigress asked.

"Raiders, degenerate tribals, regional warlords... but my primary concern is the forces of Caesar's Legion. Motherfuckers that like to dress up like Roman soldiers," David responded. "I've got pics of them all, if you want to take a look."

"How bad is Caesar's Legion?" Tigress queried.

"Worse than the Enclave, I can tell you that much right now," David answered, "Even in the Enclave, women have value. Caesar's Legion? Women are little better than slaves. Hopefully, those Legion fuckers don't have any anti-armor or anti-aircraft weapons – I would _hate _to have to cross Caesar's turf on foot."

"That bad, huh?" Tigress chuckled. "Well, we better get some rest, then – we've got a long trip ahead of us."

With that, Tigress and David retired to David's house for the night, both of them thinking of the other as they drifted off to sleep...

Tigress and David awoke simultaneously, nearly colliding with each other as they exited their respective rooms. They quickly packed up, stocked up on all the ammo they could carry, met Dusty outside the Megaton gates, and were off by 0630. Dusty flew them in the MI24 chopper to an abandoned depot, where Tigress and David got out. "This is as far as I can take you, comrades," Dusty said. "Good luck, Tigress. And thank you for saving my wife."

"Anytime, pal," David said.

"Take care, Dusty – and take care of that baby," Tigress added.

"I will, Tigress," The MI24 lifted off, and Tigress and David were left alone at that depot.

"So," Tigress asked, "Where do we go from here?"

"From here, we take a salvaged vehicle of mine to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where we'll hop in a Vertibird I have hidden there. From there, we just hop different vehicles of mine I 'collected' over the years in once city or another until we hit Vegas," David explained. "Simple."

"You have a Vertibird in Pennsylvania?" Tigress asked incredulously. "How'd you get one of those?"

"Stole it from the Enclave about a decade ago," David responded. "Kept it in good condition with parts scavenged from an air force base in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, both the 'bird and the base are on the side of Pittsburgh opposite to where we're coming from."

Tigress felt she had to make a joke for that situation: "Do you _ever_ have an easy time of things?"

David nodded. "Yeah, once... it was a Thursday," he said. It took a fraction of a second for Tigress to process the response, after which she burst out laughing. Perhaps it was because she'd been around David all this time, or perhaps it was because she knew him – whatever the case, she found his militant sense of humor funny and amusing.

"This would be a good place to get an extra weapon or two, if you want to," David said, indicating a mostly-intact building with an attached garage. Tigress headed inside while David tinkered with the jeep sitting in the garage. Inside, she found a multitude of weapons. She'd grown quite fond of her Kalashnikov rifle, but still figured...

She spotted a rifle that piqued her interest – one with the same magazine configuration as David's rifle, but fired the same caliber of ammo that her Kalashnikov rifle fired. She picked it up and noticed it had "SG9 RAPTOR" emblazoned on the side. She was quick to dematerialize her Kalashnikov rifle in favor of the Raptor. With her new weapon selected, she headed outside and into the garage, where David hopped into the driver's seat of the jeep. A tire lock sat disassembled nearby. "You all set?" David asked. Tigress responded by hopping into the passenger seat David brought the vehicle to life with a loud roar, and drove off, out of the depot and veering west.

For hours, David drove the jeep while Tigress kept an eye out for trouble. She fully expected it to crop up somewhere – even with the Enclave in disarray with Eden dead and Autumn missing, there was still the matter of Talon Company, the Super Mutants, Raiders, Marauders, and, as David said, the degenerate tribes and regional warlords, not to mention Caesar's Legion between them and Vegas.

_Speaking of which..._ Tigress thought, a question forming in her mind. "David," she asked, "What was Vegas like... before the apocalypse?"

"Really, it's not that much different from what it is now," David explained. "Casinos everywhere, hotels, restaurants, the works. I've seen it both before and after the apocalypse – the night life was the best. You can see the city lights from miles away."

"That great, huh?" Tigress queried.

"Tigress, I've seen a lot of this country before everything went to hell. If I had a chance to go back in time to prevent the apocalypse from happening, I would do it," David said.

"Maybe someday, you'll get that chance," Tigress stated. Nothing more was said between them, and Tigress began to wonder what repercussions her suggestion would have...

David stopped the jeep in an abandoned rest stop just outside Pittsburgh so he and Tigress could rest. David started the fire, while Tigress sat lost in thought, reflecting on her confrontation with Eden. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"David... Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"I don't see why not," David answered. "What's on your mind?"

"Is it normal to feel regret after... after killing a person you hate? After taking the revenge you wanted since..." Tigress cut herself off shyly.

"As I said last time, Tigress, it's a perfectly natural feeling. Anger and revenge are dangerous, but like them, feeling regret after it is natural," David stated. "But, I must ask, what drove you to take revenge?"

Tigress sighed. "Ever since you told me what happened to my home and family, all I could feel is anger. I tried to stop Eden in the past, only for him to throw me into the future. I... I hated him, saw him as the source of my pain. I wanted him to die, to pay for what he did. When I killed him, I took the revenge I wanted... but it hasn't brought me the peace I thought it would."

"It never does," David said. He gently tugged on Tigress's chin to bring her eyes to meet his. "Again, anger is a powerful tool – but it _will_ destroy you if you let it. And besides, what you don't seem to see is the fact that if you had not killed him, he would have killed you. So, even though you took his life in the name of vengeance, you still did the right thing."

Tigress smiled. "Coming from a wasteland legend like you... that means a lot," she said. David chuckled.

"You're already quite the legend yourself," he said. "You are the first person in over two hundred years to ever see President Eden face-to-face. No one living in this wasteland – to say nothing about anyone living in this century – has ever seen him. On top of that, you've done what even the brotherhood of steel could not – you assassinated the Enclave President and threw the Enclave forces into total disarray. It should be a trivial matter for them to sweep away what's left of the Enclave. That's quite a resume."

"So you're not... disappointed?" Tigress asked.

"Not at all," David responded. "You have, dare I say, exceeded my expectations. The limits of your powers are yours to discover – I can guide you, pass on what knowledge I can, but I can only show you the door; it's you that has to walk through it."

"Well, in any event, we may want to get some sleep – we've got a city and likely an army of raiders between us and that Vertibird," Tigress suggested. "But... before we go to sleep..." She hesitated fractionally, then quickly kissed David on the cheek and sent her heart racing. "... thanks for helping me out all this time."

David didn't at all seem surprised, and he gave Tigress a warm smile as he responded, "Anytime." With that said, the both of them went to sleep. As Tigress drifted off, she mentally went over the details of recent events. She started this whole adventure with a vision of what she perceived as her death; looking back, she realized this was a vision of what was to come, of who she was destined to meet with. Then, she was given immortality, new powers, new equipment, and was trained to better use all three. After that, she helped David accomplish several tasks, got captured by the Enclave, rescued Dusty's pregnant wife, met Eden for a second time, killed him, threw the Enclave forces into total disarray, destroyed their base, and now, she was on her way to Vegas, with god-only-knows how many enemies between her and Vegas, and ultimately, she assumed, the road home – to the Valley, to her time.

But what of David? He'd proven to be more than a stalwart companion. She felt for him. His heart, his soul, his tears, feelings, pain... all of them, just like hers. Tough, resilient, and yet, sensitive and, above all else, alone. Could she live with herself for eternity if she left David in this hellhole? She was now as ageless as he – could she live forever knowing she left David to be alone at the end of her road with him? Knowing she had a chance to make a life with him, and she'd cast that chance aside just to get home? She didn't even want to consider it. After everything David had been through – two wives and two children buried, watching the bombs fall, all the deaths he caused just to survive in the wasteland, all the pain he felt – he deserved better.

Perhaps, Tigress thought, maybe the reason she was brought here was not just to defeat Eden, but to save another soul – a soul that was so much like her – from a lifetime of pain and misery. A chance to prove that she may be hardcore, but she still had feelings, contrary to popular belief. A chance to do what she felt she was going to be denied because of a premature death. She looked at David's sleeping form, and couldn't help her heart beating faster for him.

Perhaps the Valley would bring him the peace that had so far eluded him. She continued to speculate this as she finally lapsed into a deep sleep...


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Tigress awoke to find she had a blanket thrown over her. She assumed David threw it over her while she was sleeping. However, David was not...

"Finally managed to pry yourself from your pillow, I see?" David asked. Tigress looked over to see him walking up with wood. She smiled at his comment.

"Haven't slept that well in a while," she commented.

"Well, you'll sleep better when we get where we're going," David said, putting the wood on the fire and getting tools ready for cooking.

"Speaking of which... where are we going?" Tigress asked. "All I know is we're headed to Vegas."

David smiled. "We're going to the only place I actually call home in this desolate wasteland," he answered.

"And given that, before we met, you ordinarily played the Lone Gunman, I assume it isn't actually in the city itself?" Tigress surmised.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" he chuckled. "No, my home is in the Vegas region, but not in the city itself; it's on the outskirts, between Red Rock Canyon and a destroyed town called Bonnie Springs."

"And I imagine that because your home houses the temporal gateway that'll take me home, you have your home hidden from sight?" Tigress guessed.

"Indeed – the house itself is a personal underground vault, like the ones built before the apocalypse that allowed so many to survive – but this one was built to accommodate a family or otherwise small band of people," David explained.

"And this one in particular you yourself commissioned?" Tigress asked.

"Nope," David responded. "Inherited it from the unfortunate owner about a year after the bombs fell."

"I hope you didn't kill him for it," Tigress said.

"Kill him? Hell no – he was already dead," David stated, "He or she – couldn't tell because there wasn't much left of their corpse – never made it to that personal vault. They died from the radiation halfway to the vault. In their handwritten last will, they left the deed and rights to the first person who found it... finders-keepers kind of thing, didn't want the vault to waste away."

"And you were the first person to find it, because you were immune to radiation and therefore could survive where others could not," Tigress concluded, "When did the Temporal Gateway come into play?"

"Oh, I'd say... ten? Twelve years later? I don't remember, but it started as a project of boredom that turned into an effort to prevent the tragedy that befell this world," David responded, handing Tigress a bowl of soup. "But, as we both know, I now am shifting that priority to getting you home."

"What about you?" Tigress asked. "What will you do once I'm gone?"

"Me?" David responded. "Well... I'll figure it out."

"You don't sound very confident," Tigress said. She paused, noticing David's tone, and added, "In fact, you seem upset about it."

David sighed. "Tigress," he said, "You're the first long-term company I've had in many years. Surely it comes as no surprise that I've grown, shall we say, attached to you?"

Tigress placed a gentle hand on David's cheek. "David," she responded, "If you wanted me to stay, why did you never ask?"

"Because you don't belong here, as hard as it is for me to admit that," David stated. "You belong with Shifu, with Tai Lung, Po... your family, your friends. I can't – and won't – deny you your home and family."

"Even Shifu would understand if I wanted to stay with you," Tigress said. "Just as you won't deny me my family, I won't deprive you of my company. I can't just leave you here."

"You can," David stated, "You must."

"And let you suffer here alone?" Tigress asked. "I won't let you wander the wastes by yourself, just as you had done for over two centuries. After all you've been through, don't you think you've suffered enough?"

David was silent, but eventually requested, "At least let me give it some thought; never did I foresee that you'd want to remain in this hell, even with me at your side. I... I didn't think..."

Tigress frowned. "You didn't think... what?" she asked.

"It's... complicated," David answered. "But we can't discuss it now... not until we hit 'Vegas."

Right then and there, in the silence between them, Tigress saw something in David's eyes that made her heart ache – a subtle, heartfelt longing. She had her suspicions, but she put them away – for now – to focus on the current task; getting through Pittsburgh and to the air force base on the other side, wherein lay the Vertibird that would carry them to their next destination, wherever that was.

David drove the jeep to a garage just inside Pittsburgh, where he laid traps and then vanished with Tigress into the city depths.

"Keep your head on a swivel," David told Tigress, "Ashur's raider troops are everywhere."

"Ashur?" Tigress repeated the name. "Regional Warlord?"

"One of several across America. What sets Ashur apart from the others is that, unlike most regional warlords, he is in command of an entire city, complete with slaves, hideous mutations, and a massive industry that's worked by the slaves, to say nothing about his growing army of raiders," David explained.

"Oh, _please_ tell me we're gonna cap his ass, too," Tigress chuckled.

David laughed quietly. "Good god, girl – you're getting to be just like me," he said.

Tigress smiled broadly. "The unfortunate byproduct of an American companion's influence, _comrade,_" she told him.

David chuckled. "Well, to answer your question, we may _have_ to drill Ashur, if either it becomes a part of the mission profile or the motherfucker gets between us and the Vertibird."

"So, if it's us two against an army of raiders and a warlord... how do we get by them?" Tigress asked.

"We'll have to talk to Midea or Wernher," David responded. "Even though we're far better equipped than those moronic raiders jacked up on god-only-knows how many chems, I'm not going to risk you in a running gunfight. We'll need to act with subtlety. Speaking of which..." David paused to activate his PCD, and Tigress did the same. They then moved deeper into the city, taking care to avoid the raider sentries goose-stepping here and there. They crossed a mined bridge, avoiding the mines and disarming those that were in their path, and finally made it to a gated checkpoint, beyond which was the entrance to a walled-off area of downtown Pittsburgh. And manning that checkpoint was a fire team of raiders, all dressed in typical raider attire.

Tigress wondered why they bothered – far more often than not, their usual attire was useless, not covering their bodies enough to prevent – or even mitigate – any fatal damage. She raised her raptor to fire, but David gently pushed the weapon down. "We don't want to alert the raiders of our presence," he whispered.

"That's the only way through," Tigress said.

"I beg to differ," David said, indicating a nearby grate.

_How convenient,_ Tigress thought as she followed David, crawling through the grate after him. She followed him through the confined space, and finally coming out in a sludge-covered, small room with a sewer grate in the ceiling. David crawled up the ladder to that grate, then carefully lifted the grate and peered around. He then shut the grate and told Tigress in a hushed tone, "It's clear – come on, before any raiders show up!"

Tigress quickly ascended the ladder, and followed David out of the sewer and into the city proper. Tigress found herself in a massive pit in the ground that looked as though it had been caused by an explosion. She and David quickly cleared it and moved into a nearby alley, and not a moment too soon – no sooner than when they entered that alley did a band of slaves and three raider guards appear in the area, the slaves working around the pit, digging, welding, and cutting, while the guards watched from the edges.

David led Tigress into what appeared to be a town square, where they took up positions on in a dark alcove near a doorway. Shortly afterward, an avian woman with a cotton hat came up, looked around, and opened the door to head inside. Tigress and David quickly hurried inside, and Tigress was surprised to see the woman shut the door as normally as possible, then turn around and exclaimed in a very hushed tone,

"David, what the hell are you doing here?! You're gonna get the both of us... kill..." She paused upon seeing Tigress. "David... is... is that...?"

"Yep," David answered. "Midea, meet Master Tigress."

"Well, regardless, you two shouldn't be here!" Midea told them.

"Why not?" Tigress asked, "What's wrong?"

"Rumor has it, Ashur got a communique from the Enclave – there's a price on both your heads!" Midea responded. "If the guards knew you were in here, they'd kill all three of us! What are you doing here?"

"I came here to pick up the tee-dee-are," David answered. "Does it remain unfound?"

"Yeah, that thing remains unfound, but Ashur's men found your research station, and they've ransacked the place – Wernher believes they're developing some form of serum to give them your powers!" Midea said. "If they perfect it, we won't stand a chance! You've got to help us!"

Tigress was conflicted and confused; not only was she facing a moral dilemma, but she had no clue what this "tee-dee-are" was and how it was supposed to help them. So she voiced her belief: "David, we can't let Ashur's people develop that serum, it's not right."

"I'd be inclined to agree," David agreed. "How long ago was the station ransacked?"

"About a week ago, why?" Midea asked.

"So chances are, they haven't gotten very far in terms of development," David said. "Where is it being developed?"

"In the lab in Ashur's palace," Midea replied. "Please – we need your help, both of you!"

"Where's Wernher?" Tigress inquired.

"Dead," Midea answered. "He was at the research station when Ashur's men ransacked it. He was caught totally off-guard. Now all the slaves are looking to me."

There was a pause before David said, "Very well. I came here to pack a few things, but I'll be damned if we're gonna leave this place in worse shape than I first found it in. If you can get the strongest slaves you have, I can get them armed and equipped."

Midea looked shocked. "I thought you said we weren't ready to handle the weapons you've developed?" she stated.

"There is such a thing as not being ready for them," David said, his face bearing a look of anger that wasn't there before, "And then there is having no other option. Gather your best and have them meet me in the steel yard." He looked to Tigress, motioned his head, and he and Tigress re-engaged their cloaking devices and followed Midea out. Once they were clear of the door, Tigress followed David into a steel mill, where they moved through the dimly-lit mill, following the painted arrows to the steel yard entrance, where a lone raider stood beset by a dozen slaves.

"... what, you scabs are gathering ingots in groups now? Bullshit," he growled.

"But we're serious – individually, we don't stand a chance against the Trogs. In a group, however, we-" one of the slaves explained hesitantly.

The guard drew a holstered sidearm, but didn't aim it at any of the slaves gathered before him. "You motherfuckers are gonna tell me what you're really doing here, or the first shot goes into someone's face!" he spat.

David apparently had enough. He stood up fully and de-cloaked. "You want the truth, asshole? Fine. These slaves are under my command. Drop the gun, or your ass gets capped."

Tigress de-cloaked next to David, and the raider looked shocked. He visibly shuddered, dropped his weapon, and put his hands up. "Well, uh... don't let me stop you," he said with a nervous chuckle.

One of the slaves was about to pick up the dropped weapon when another slave slapped his arm gently. "Don't bother," she said, "We're getting better stuff where we're going."

"That's right," David growled more to the guard than the slave who'd just spoken. "Tell the other raiders or don't, it matters not. You fuck with us, you'll get what's coming to you. Got it?"

The guard nodded, and David, Tigress, and the slaves headed into the steel yard. As soon as they were in the even darker area, Tigress posed a question to David:

"David... what's a tee-dee-are?" she asked.

"TDR – Thermal Disruptor Rifle," David answered. "Insurance policy in the event that I ran out of depleted-uranium ammo for my weapons, to say nothing of how it's a much-easier-to-manufacture – not to mention safer for those not immune to radiation – alternative to depleted-uranium rounds. Fires high-energy pulses that'll burn right through even the best power armor."

Tigress mentally shrugged to herself as she and David escorted the slaves to a dilapidated warehouse, where David threw a switch, and immediately, a vast hoard of armor and weapons were immediately visible. The armor looked to fit the same pattern as Tigress and David's Advanced Dragonskin armor – a full-body suit – but with a different layout.

"Gear up, people," David told the slaves. As the slaves rushed over to get into the armor and choose a weapon, Tigress leaned closer to David.

"Pet project for this region?" she whispered to him, "Build weapons and armor for the slaves to take on Ashur's army?"

"More or less," David answered without looking away from the slaves. "The weapons and armor were materialized from an old game I played as a kid."

Tigress looked surprised. "You can do that?" David didn't answer as he walked over to a crate and opened it, revealing what looked to be a scaled-up 12.7mm Submachine gun. Upon a closer look, Tigress noticed that, while it merely _looked_ like such an SMG, it was considerably different, with a medium-short range scope, added stock integrated with the weapon's frame, a combat sensor, heat sink, and a different loading port. David picked up a small device that Tigress assumed was the power cell and loaded it into the port, and the gun came to life. He then dematerialized multiple other cells, then reached into the crate to retrieve a _second_ weapon – the same one he had. He tossed it to Tigress, along with a belt of power cells.

"These are the Thermal Disruptor Rifles," he told her. "The power cells last for approximately 150 shots, so shoot wisely."

Tigress quickly dematerialized her Raptor and readied the TDR she had just received, and when she turned her attention to the slaves gearing up, she noticed they were armored up and ready to move. David pointed to two of them and said, "You two – escort the other slaves here, get them geared up and ready. Keep escorting slaves here until this place is dry of equipment and ammo. The rest of you, on me. We're going to Ashur's palace and putting that rat bastard down."

The slaves whooped in excitement, and followed Tigress and David out of the warehouse and back the way they came. But right as the door to the mill was visible, it opened and a team of raiders came through. One of them spotted Tigress, David and the squad of slaves and started shooting, where Tigress observed that the slaves' new armor had energy shields of their own, as it flared when one of them was hit. The slaves were quick to raise their weapons and hose the raiders with bullets. The raiders, wearing their typical armor, dropped dead inside of a few seconds. While the two slaves David spoke to earlier went about gathering other slaves and getting them to the makeshift armory, Tigress, David, and their squad went about clearing out the mill of raiders before moving into uptown.

And as she drilled one raider after the other, she was surprised at how effective her new TDR was. Firing the weapon only made a metallic ticking sound, making it unusually quiet for a weapon as deadly as it was, and it fired like an automatic assault rifle, making it that much deadlier. The thermal disruptor bolts burned through raiders like paper, and their armor might as well have been just as useless. Faced with rebelling slaves armed and equipped with weapons and armor far superior to their own, the raiders stood little chance against the rebels. Perhaps it was orders from Ashur, and perhaps they thought it wise, but the Raiders chose to fall back to Ashur's palace. Tigress and David led the rebels to Haven – Ashur's palace – slaughtering the raiders as they went. The rebel slaves were especially adamant over killing every last raider they saw.

When they came upon the lab, they were confronted by none other than Ashur himself. "So," he growled, "You're the ones who armed my workers and set them against me."

"You set your 'workers' against yourself, asswipe – when a slaver forces lives that aren't his into servitude, rebellion is all but inevitable," David said. "And I owe you for Wernher, you psychopath."

"Wernher was a traitor – he endangered my city," Ashur said. "And you... I've heard of you. Twinblade and Master Tigress. The Enclave put a massive bounty on your head; one I will collect on unless you call off this uprising."

"You seem to overestimate your chances, moron," Tigress told him. "Look around you. The troops behind you are all you've got left; all of your others have been shot dead by the people you call 'workers' but treat as slaves. And you've yet to put a dent in our numbers, whereas we've almost completely wiped you out; face it, Ashur – you're staring down superior numbers and firepower combined with a united will for freedom!"

"You can't defeat a people like that," David added. "They'd rather die than be slaves to people like you!"

"So be it," Ashur sighed. He drew his weapon, but David was faster on the trigger, as he raised his TDR and fired a short burst, mortally wounding Ashur, and the slaves drilled the raiders. The gunfight lasted no more than a couple minutes. While the raiders and Slaves fought it out in Haven, Tigress and David pursued Ashur into the palace and to the lab. There, amongst the various computers and experiments, Ashur laid bleeding. But, still, he desired to fight, and fired a pistol at David, hitting nothing but the energy shield. David raised his weapon and fired, putting a single bolt in Ashur's head.

"That's for Wernher, you son of a bitch," he muttered. Looking around, he stood, then started for the exit. "Let Midea and the slaves have this lab," he told a now-arriving squad of rebels. "The research here could possibly save lives."

"So now it's off to the Vertibird?" Tigress asked.

"Now that I have what I came here for and we've set the slaves of Pittsburgh free... definitely," David answered.

As David and Tigress moved through the city, Tigress asked, "Wernher was your friend, wasn't he?"

"One of the few friends that were scientists; he was the one that discovered transferring my immunities to others was possible," David affirmed. "I think he'd be proud to know he was right."

Not a word was said between Tigress and David until they arrived at the air force base, where Tigress and David found the Vertibird – in just as pristine a condition as David suggested – and lifted off. Tigress strapped in to the copilot's seat, but let David do the flying as she drifted off to sleep...


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Tigress had no idea how long she'd been out, as before she knew it, she was being shaken awake. "Tigress, wake up – we've landed... for now," David told her, gently shaking her awake.

"Where are we?" Tigress asked groggily.

"We're in an automated refueling station in Memphis, Tennessee," David answered, "just an irradiated river away from the state I spent the latter half of my childhood in – Arkansas."

"How long are we going to be on the ground?" Tigress asked.

"Couple hours, give or take," David replied. "You won't believe this-"

"Try me," Tigress said with a smile.

David smiled back before he continued, "Dusty and Darcy are on their way here – turns out, they're headed for Vegas, too."

Tigress frowned. "Them, too? What business do they have in Vegas?"

"Something about selling off weapons and equipment to the Gun Runners and delivering medical supplies and such to the Followers of the Apocalypse," David replied. "But, hey – it'll be good we're getting backup for the trip to Vegas."

Tigress shrugged, and exited the Vertibird with David, where she saw the automated machines tending it. She shrugged it off, having seen it before in David's files during their stint in Megaton at the beginning of all this.

"Tigress, can I ask you something personal?" David queried.

"I don't see why not," Tigress responded.

"You were... you were adopted by Shifu when you first went to the Jade Palace, right?" David asked.

Tigress nodded. "Best day in my childhood, why?" she answered.

"And Tai Lung was Shifu's first-adopted son, right?" David inquired.

"Yes, he was," Tigress replied with a frown, "Where are you going with this?"

"Because you and Tai Lung shared Shifu as your adopted father... you realize what this means?" David asked.

Tigress pondered this, and then, her face turned to shock as comprehension dawned. "You mean...?" she gasped.

David nodded. "Because you and Tai Lung share an adoptive father, that makes _him_ your adopted _brother_," he said.

Tigress was shocked. She knew that Shifu had adopted Tai Lung and raised him as his son. She remembered when Shifu adopted her from the Bao Gu Orphanage. But _never_ did she realize, _never_ did she think, or even consider, that when Shifu adopted Tigress, it made Tai Lung her brother.

And so, oblivious to the rapid thumping in the air, she looked to David, who brought this revelation to her. The man who was – quite literally – taking her home. To her family, the family she thought she was alone in. Overcome with joy, she excitedly threw her arms around David and squealed in delight. The wind picked up fiercely, but Tigress held David tightly.

"Uh, Tigress... please... _not_ in front of Dusty," David chuckled.

Tigress's eyes went wide upon David's amused plea, and finally realized she could feel Dusty's presence behind her – and he wasn't alone. She quickly released David and turned around to see Dusty and Darcy standing there, both looking amused, and Tigress's cheeks flushed red.

"Received good news, did we?" Darcy asked.

"You told her, didn't you?" Dusty inquired.

"Yeah," David sighed, "And she apparently had no idea."

"Dammit," Dusty amusingly cursed, digging into his pack and handing five bottle caps to a pleased-looking Darcy.

"Wait – you two had a bet going?" Tigress asked.

"Don't look at me!" Dusty answered defensively as he pointed to Darcy, "It was her idea!"

"I bet Dusty five caps that you wouldn't have a clue that Tai Lung is your adopted brother," Darcy admitted. Tigress simply laughed as the machines began to tend to Dusty's MI24. Indicating it, Tigress asked,

"Hey, Dusty – that thing fully loaded?"

"If you mean the weapons, then yes – UV32 Rockets, air-to-ground missiles, and fully-stocked 12mm Nose Cannon. This bird had it all when David and I found it at a military depot in Denver," Dusty affirmed. "David and I dragged it home to get it refitted with materialization emitters for the weapons... it was like having infinite ammo, so to speak."

Tigress looked to David. "You seem to find _everything_ in military depots, don't you, David?"

David chuckled. "Back in the day, the American Military had some pretty badass stuff. That MI24 was going to end up in a museum, but the bombs fell before the engineers could even demilitarize it."

"Did David tell you he grew up near here?" Dusty asked.

"No, I didn't say I grew up near here, I told her-" David started.

"-That he spent the latter years of his childhood near here," Tigress finished, much to David's irritation. She looked at him with a grin.

Contrary to any sort of irritated remark, David smiled. "Starting to play with my head, now, are we?"

"I learn from the best," Tigress said.

David chuckled, "Be careful what you pick up from me, Tigress – I have a few bad habits."

"Oh, take it from me – he does," Dusty affirmed, earning him a quick elbow in the ribs by Darcy.

"Everyone has bad habits," Tigress said. "One of mine is I tend to strike first in a fight sometimes."

David's smile broadened. "Well, ain't that a coincidence – so do I."

Tigress's smile, too, broadened. "See?" She commented. "The more time we spend together, the more we realize we have in common."

"It's... almost as if you two were... meant for each other," Dusty said. This comment earned him a swift swat upside the head. Tigress turned her back, pretending to look at the city before them while trying to hide the fact her face was flushing red. Truth was, Dusty was right – it _did_ seem as though David and Tigress were meant for each other. There was no other way to explain how she felt for him. How she was willing to stay with him in the American wasteland, even though she knew she didn't belong in it.

It was the only explanation that fit how she was willing to even consider what she wanted to do. Perhaps it was David that was meant to be Tigress's bound mate in eternity – two eternal warriors, hailing from two different, foreign lands and two completely different timelines, yet feeling for each other despite these differences and realizing they had more in common than either one of them originally knew.

While Dusty went about being systematically – though playfully – slapped by his wife for his comments, David walked over beside Tigress. "I don't blame you for feeling a might embarrassed," he said to her. "Were I in your position, I'd be doing as you are. But... Dusty does have a point; we do have a lot in common, so much so that it... has reawakened feelings in me I originally thought were dead."

"Feelings you last felt when you still had a wife and child," Tigress surmised. "Now you're wondering if I'll suffer the same fate they did."

"Now you see why I am so... hesitant, regarding how I feel about you," David affirmed. "I don't want you to end up like they did."

There was a long pause, during which Tigress considered what she thought David was telling her in the back of her mind, before Tigress asked, "David... did you ever give some thought to my offer?"

"Your offer?" David queried.

"To come with me," Tigress clarified. "Come with me when I go back to my own time."

David sighed, "First, you wanted to stay with me in this hellhole – now, you're asking me to go with you to your time. While I appreciate your intentions, Tigress... I don't think I'd belong there, any more than you belong here. Besides, my mission-"

"You'd still be able to accomplish you mission," Tigress interrupted. "You'd still be able to stop Eden in the past to save the future. The only thing that'd be different is you'll be traveling to a different place to do so than what you had planned. And even better, you'd be able to see my homeland as well as see the world before the apocalypse. Maybe you wouldn't belong at first, but with me at your side..." Tigress let the thought hang in the air for a moment before adding, "Think on that – and consider the lives you'd be saving from an eternity of pain and misery... including your own."

Roughly ten minutes before the end of the stay at the refueling station in Memphis, Tigress got the distinct feeling that something was wrong. She alerted David, who felt the same sensation. Tigress and David talked with Dusty and Darcy, and agreed that they go separate routes to Vegas; Dusty and Darcy would take a route through Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California before moving into Nevada, wherein lay New Vegas.

Tigress and David, however, would take a route through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and stop in Salt Lake City, Utah, make for Zion Valley, and take a specific passage from Zion Valley to Nevada. Neither Tigress nor David knew what the source of their bad feeling was, but they were certain moving for Vegas on the same route as David and Darcy would attract attention and could prove fatal.

The next couple of days were a blur to Tigress, as she soon found herself looking at the ruins of Salt Lake City. Two centuries of scavenging and prospecting, not to mention conflicts between local factions, had left the site barren and lifeless. Regardless, Tigress and David moved through the city remains, neutralizing what little resistance there was. Tigress barely had to use her TDR.

They moved through the city and into the surrounding countryside, a wasteland of sand and rock, and Tigress was thankful she had plenty of supplies stored in her armor's emitters. It wasn't until they came upon two metallic hulks – the remains of a pickup truck in one lane and a jeep in the other, both missing multiple parts – that something happened.

David stopped upon seeing the remains of the vehicles. He slowly approached them, as though he was seeing a ghost of his past. "David," Tigress asked, "Are you alright?" David didn't answer, but dematerialized his armor and ran his hand over the hull of the jeep.

"Two centuries," David whispered, "And you still remain here."

Tigress got the implication immediately. "Was your wife in that jeep?" she inquired.

David shook his head, looking to Tigress with tears streaming down his face. "No, she wasn't – I was," he answered. "This is where I was when the bombs first fell."

As much as Tigress wanted to press on, and avoid David taking a trip down memory lane, she decided to play the caring woman, a shoulder to cry on as it seemed needed. "What happened?" she asked.

David sighed, his breath trembling. "It was dark, I'd say... oh, nine? Ten o'clock? I no longer remember. I was heading for Salt Lake City when my jeep just... died," he explained. "I was headed home. Jeep died, and so did the truck over there," he indicated the truck. "I knew right away what was happening. I was looking south when the bomb struck Salt Lake City, but the old couple in the truck weren't so lucky – they were looking right into the blast and went blind. The flash behind me was so bright, the world looked on fire. I counted twelve more flashes over the next seven minutes, and each time, the ground shook eighteen seconds later. When nothing hit for half an hour, I took a look – saw the globe of fire where the nuke struck. The old couple had a heart attack, one after the other. I grabbed my pack and hiked to Zion. Took five days..."

Tigress dematerialized her own armor and took one of David's hands. "Your wife... your first wife... was in Salt Lake City, wasn't she?" she asked.

David's tears flowed like rivers as he answered, "Her and my son." He sat down with his back against the jeep. "It's not knowing how they died that hurts the most. Not knowing which side of town got hit. Northeast side, and they both died in a blink. Further away from there, they screamed as they burned alive, or as the blast fragments glass, wood, and brick to shred them like hamburgers."

Tigress knelt down in front of David, taking his hand again. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Unless you dropped the bomb on my home, you have nothing to apologize for," David said, half-sobbing. "I should have been there with my family. Char kept telling me to stop running off to the wild. Man belongs with his family. She... she was right."

"It's not your fault, either, David," Tigress assured him. "You did nothing wrong in surviving the apocalypse."

"How is it not-" David began. Tigress silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"You didn't know what would happen," she told him. "You couldn't have known. No one knew. Yes, your family died without you. But they wouldn't want you dwelling on their deaths. They would want you to move on. And I'm right here, for you, as I have been since this whole thing started. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm right here."

"I'm a soldier," David half-sobbed, "I know I'm better than this."

"But soldier or not, ageless or not, you are still a living, feeling person," Tigress said softly. She uncovered one of her hands long enough to place it on David's cheek, her thumb wiping away a stream of tears. "Stop running from your feelings. Stop pretending you don't have them." She paused, then added, "And stop pretending you have no feelings for me, because you and I both know you do."

With Tigress's soft words and her caring touch, David finally let go, and cried softly on her shoulder. Tigress didn't know how long she had held David, but it was completely unexpected when suddenly, she felt a tremor in her senses. She slipped her gauntlet back on, materialized her armor, and grabbed hold of David, shielding him as an explosion rocked both of them. She blacked out from the blast, and the last thing she heard was shouts and gunfire...

(I apologize for the long delay - life has been hectic. And, as it happens, downright depressing and - in more than one case - enraging. Rest assured, I am still working on this story; it is not dead, and nowhere near done. -CDA)


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Tigress awoke to a burning campfire. Looking down, she saw she was bandaged in several places. Looking up, she saw David, tending the campfire.

"Well, that's a damn sight faster recovery than the last time I operated on you," he said with a warm smile. Tigress smiled back, but then asked,

"What happened?"

"Legion motherfuckers – they happened across us and opened fire. Someone tipped them off that we were headed this direction, likely our Enclave friends due east," David explained. His smile faded, replaced by a look of genuine concern. "What were you thinking, shielding me like that? What were you trying to prove?"

"I merely did for you what you did for me," Tigress responded.

"And I appreciate that, Tigress. You saved my life. But... I came close to losing you," he said, looking deeply concerned. He took her hand, holding it tightly, but gently, as he told her, "You're supposed to live eternally _with_ someone, not because of them. Please... don't risk your life like that again?"

Tigress reached up and put the hand David was holding on his cheek, and David put his own hand over it. "I promise," she whispered to him. David smiled, letting tears fall as he closed his eyes, leaning his head into her hand. Tigress felt a swelling in her chest, along with a feeling she'd long wanted to feel. She gently pulled David down to her and held him in her arms.

"Why did you save me, Tigress?" David asked, laying down beside her and wrapping his arms around her. Tigress smiled and chuckled.

"Because I care about you, David," she said. "I don't want you to wander for eternity alone... just as I had been doing." She held David tight and added, "All my life, I've never felt for anyone as I do for you. You... are so much like me. Strong. Tough. Resilient, yet still a feeling person. I look at you... and I see myself. Aside from that, we have been going at this for some time, and I have, shall I say, grown attached to you?" She and David shared a light chuckle. Tigress then changed the subject and asked, "How long till I am back on my feet?"

"Given how fast you recovered from that blast... I'd say as early as tomorrow morning. Get some rest, Tigress. If you need anything, I'm right here next to you," David told her. Tigress smiled, holding David close as she drifted off to sleep.

Tigress awoke to find she was no longer snuggled in David's arms; instead, David was cooking. "Good morning," he said. "Nice to see you awake. Hungry?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Tigress affirmed. David handed her a bowl of stew while Tigress looked around. In direct contrast with the American wasteland she'd grown accustomed to, the area she found herself in was lush, green, and beautiful. "Where are we?" she asked as she began eating.

"Oh, right," David said. "You were out cold for five days; a result of the sudden Legion attack. The armor saved your life – after I drilled those legion motherfuckers, I patched you up and dragged you here, to Zion Valley."

"Zion Valley, huh?" Tigress asked. "It almost looks as if it was never affected by the Nuclear warheads."

"Oh, it was – just nowhere near as severe as everywhere else. Water's clean, flora and fauna are plenty... the only problems in Zion at present are Legion troops and their Tribal friends running amok. Right now, they're inactive – but we aren't getting out of here without running into some of them," David said. He sighed, then added, "There's a few things I need to do here in Zion before we head for Vegas. Things I need to pack, and... I want to pay one last visit to Sylvie and Micheal's graves."

Tigress gave David a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I'll help you," she told him. "I'll be right here beside you, if you need a shoulder to cry on."

David smiled, placing a hand on Tigress's cheek. "I know," he said.

After finishing their meal, Tigress and David armored up, armed themselves – David with the TDR he picked up in Pittsburgh, and Tigress with the Raptor she'd nabbed prior to Pittsburgh – and moved into Zion Valley. In stark contrast with the American Wasteland Tigress had grown so accustomed to, Zion Valley was so beautiful. Green trees, abundant wildlife – some hostile, some not – thriving flora and fauna. It made Tigress long for home.

They'd been in Zion no more than ten minutes, heading for a cave, when Tigress heard someone gibbering in a language foreign to her and felt something hit her from behind – something sharp. The shields deflected the blow completely, and Tigress turned to fire on what appeared to be several coyote tribals armed with a mix of hand-crafted weapons and guns in bad repair. David turned to fire, but by the time be brought his weapon to bear, Tigress had already nailed all three tribals.

"I swear, woman – you are getting to be just like me," he chuckled. Tigress smiled at the comment, and the two went into the cave, avoiding traps and mines that David himself had set up. When the reached a large chamber, David went about gathering things in the area. While he did that, Tigress explored the area, noticing a small gathering of arms and ammo – 10mm SMGs and Pistols, a 9mm SMG, and a pair of rifles, one meant for sniping, the other meant for general purpose combat.

"Go ahead and pack those up, Tigress – no sense in leaving it for the White Legs or those damn Legion assholes to get their hands on 'em," David said. Tigress complied, packing the weapons and ammo in her emitters. When they finished, they were about to head back the way they came when a scream alerted them to danger. Judging by the voices and familiar language, she assumed there were Legion troops in the cave. David led Tigress out of the cave via a secondary exit, and they moved to another area, avoiding Legion sentries and Tribal patrols where possible, silencing them when needed. They came into another cave, and saw the traps had already been triggered by hapless tribals, and when David and Tigress came into the main chamber, where David's stuff was, they found Legion troops going through it all. Tigress and David moved in, drilled the Legion soldiers, and put an end to their search, then policed and booby-trapped the bodies, secured David's effects, and were out of there by the time the next Legion patrol came in. Though removed from the area, Tigress and David heard the distant _boom_ when the booby-trapped bodies were triggered.

For the next six hours, Tigress and David bounced from one cave to the next, slaying Legion troops and Tribals while securing David's effects. During one of those battles, they secured a radio, and were able to hear the Legion commander in the area order a retreat. Though unclear as to why, David and Tigress took the opportunity to secure the last of David's gear, and when no Legion troops were seen and no Tribals attacked for three hours, David led Tigress to a grave spot. Tigress immediately got the implications when she read the names "Sylvie" and "Michael" on the crosses marking the graves.

Tigress was about to say something to comfort David when he spoke, "I know what you're gonna say. And I'm sorry. I've been busy; a lot's happened since the last time I was here. I wanted to pay my respects to you both one last time before I cross the point of no return." David gently reached out and took Tigress's hand, who gripped it tightly, a symbol she was there for him. "I know you two are up there with Char and Alex. I hope the lot of you can forgive me. This... this wasn't how I expected this to turn out. But I have to do this. You lot picked a hell of an angel to guide me back to peace... but... thank you. Goodbye... and good luck."

David and Tigress then left the graves, and moved high into the mountainside ledges, heading for the pass David intended to use to get to the Nevada region. When they finally reached it, David stopped, turning to take one last look at Zion. "Goodbye, Zion," was all he said before walking with Tigress out of Zion.

For the next seven days, Tigress and David traveled the passes and canyons to Nevada. The Legion kept at them, but not nearly as much as they'd expected. Listening in to their radio chatter, they surmised that the Legion's attention had suddenly shifted to something else, and while Tigress and David were curious as to what that something else was, they were relieved that – even if for the time being – they were no longer the primary target. They came to a tunnel-like passage, at which point, David stopped to rest and take a drink. Tigress took that moment to ask a question:

"David... is there anything I should know about the Vegas region? Any dangers I should be aware of?"

"For one, there's the Legion. They know who we are, and they will take any opportunity to strike at us; Then there's the New Vegas chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel – bunch of jackasses and hoarders for technology; then, the gangs of raiders – the Fiends, Vipers, and Jackals," David explained.

"Seems we can't go anywhere without running into Raiders. Lemme guess – the New Vegas raiders are all generally the same as the ones in DC, as in, crazy, jacked up on chems, violent as hell, and not too bright?" Tigress scoffed.

"Aren't they all like that?" David chuckled. "Well, except for Ashur's raiders. Those fuckers were more disciplined than most other raiders. Just not as well-equipped as perhaps they could have been."

"Right. What of Vegas?" Tigress asked. "Is it safe there?"

"The Vegas strip is, yes – plenty of life there, and they don't allow guns in any of the casinos. But Freeside? Fucking slum. I wouldn't want to live there, and I doubt anyone does by choice. Why do you ask?" David responded.

"Well... I figured, before we... _I_... go back to my time," Tigress said, quickly correcting herself, "You and I can go enjoy the Vegas night life."

David chuckled and smiled. "Certainly – you and I could use some down time after everything we fought through," he agreed.

They then rose to their feet, and continued down the passage, and out into the light of day, where Tigress saw what she assumed was New Vegas, with a massive tower sitting at the center. "That Vegas?" Tigress asked, indicating the tower.

"Yep," David affirmed. "But we gotta drop off the power module at the hideout before we hit up Vegas. Now where did I put that teleporter...?" He began digging around in a hollowed-out rock formation, and finally retrieved an odd device. He took Tigress's hand, and pulled her close, then activated the device. In a rush of lights accompanied by a dizzying sense of velocity, Tigress found herself in a Vault-like place.

"Ahh," David sighed, "Home sweet home."

"This is your Personal Vault?" Tigress asked, still recovering from the sense of vertigo.

"Yeah," David responded. "Follow me, I'll show you the device that's gonna take you home."

_Home..._ Tigress thought, now finding she was dreading the thought of returning home. She followed David to a large room where a ring-shaped structure sat. "What... what is that?"

"_That_, dear Tigress, is a Temporal Gateway," David answered. "It's the road home. Speaking of which, would you mind handing over the power module?" Tigress complied, materializing the Power Module and handing it to David, who went about installing it, but paused. He sighed, took Tigress's hand, and looked her in the eyes. "Look... if it means anything, I've been back and forth a hundred times about going with you to your time. I still haven't made a firm decision, but I promise you, by night's end... you will have an answer."

Tigress placed a hand on David's cheek. "And I promise you... whatever you decide to do... I will respect your decision," She assured him. She gave him a quick, gentle kiss on the lips, before wandering off to hide her red-flushing face. She stopped just shy of one door marked "Armory" while David went about installing and bringing online the power module. Tigress opened the door, and was greeted by a massive collection of weapons. Sniper and Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Marksman and Assault Carbines, Light Machine Guns, Pistols, Varying Energy Weapons, Rocket and Missile Launchers, Shoulder-Mounted weapons, Flamethrowers, Gatling Guns, Melee Weapons of varying origin, grenades of all kinds, and all sorts of different ammunition. Tigress was shocked at the sheer volume of this armory. But then she paused, realizing that David was two centuries old; he's had a very long time to build and stockpile this vast assortment of weaponry.

"Incredible, isn't it?" David said from behind. Tigress turned to see him standing in the doorway. "It took many years to amass this amount of weapons, explosives and ammo. I even have armor in this room."

"It'd be a shame to leave all this behind if you do go with me," Tigress said with a grin. David smiled and chuckled softly.

"Indeed," he agreed. "It does present something of a conundrum, doesn't it?"

"You install the power module that fast?" Tigress asked.

"It wasn't difficult," David admitted. "It's charging up now; best guess, we – or at least _you_ – will be able to head back come tomorrow morning."

"Then let's make tonight a night to remember," Tigress suggested.

David smiled broadly. "We're thinking the same thought." He motioned for her to follow, and Tigress complied, and followed David, her heart racing...


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Tigress had no idea the armored gauntlets she was wearing had a glove-less setting, thereby disguising them as Pip-Boy Bracers and allowing to feel David's bare hands. They had to cross Fiend territory to get to the outskirts of Freeside, killing off any Fiends dumb enough to challenge them, made a detour to Camp McCarran so that David could deliver a few reports, then moved for the Gun Runners' shop for David and Tigress to sell off some excess equipment – though Tigress was surprised how much David sold, making her suspect something in the corner of her mind – and finally entered Freeside. They stopped just inside when Tigress spotted an old building flying a white flag with what almost looked like a sniper scope reticule and the word "Followers" sewn in.

"That's the old Mormon Fort," David explained. "It belongs to the Followers of the Apocalypse." He paused, then added, "Dusty and Darcy mentioned they'd be paying the Followers a visit – maybe we should see if they're still inside."

Tigress shrugged, and followed David to the front entrance, and stopped when they saw Dusty and Darcy walking out. "Well, well, well – look who made it to Vegas!" Dusty chuckled, putting his hands on his hips.

"Damn good to see you, too, Dusty!" David answered, the two of them giving each other a hug shared between best friends. Darcy, however, approached Tigress.

"Still trying to convince David to come with you to your time?" She asked, her voice low enough to keep her conversation with Tigress between them alone.

Tigress looked surprised. "How did...?"

"Tigress, I've seen that look on your face when you look at him on many women across the wasteland," Darcy responded. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Tigress sighed and chuckled. "He's grown on me a lot in the time I've been with him," she admitted.

"Bullshit," Darcy said, "It's plain on your face; you're in love with him. You can't hide it, nor should you. He needs you, more than he lets on – willingly and otherwise."

Tigress sighed. "It's... it's tearing me apart," she said. "I leave, I go back to my home, to my family, but I lose him. I stay, I keep... I keep a man I've grown to love, but I'll never see my home again. What am I gonna do?"

"Tell him," Darcy said softly. "Tell him how you feel. Tell him how much you want him. Not only will it show him something he hasn't known since Sylvie and Michael, but it'll expedite his decision to come with you."

"What about you? And Dusty? And your child?" Tigress asked.

"Tigress, whatever you and David intend to accomplish, know that if you succeed, Dusty, myself, and our child will live free of the fears we hold today," Darcy assured her. "It will be a better future for all of us. Don't worry about us – worry about _you_, for once, and what _you_ want. You'll only get a man like David once. Don't turn away from him."

Tigress looked longingly at David, conversing with Dusty. "What... what if he rejects me?" Tigress asked, feeling the weight of a heart in conflict.

"He won't," Darcy assured her.

David then fist-bumped Dusty, Darcy returned to her husband, and David approached Tigress. She had no idea if he'd noticed her expression when he spoke, "Come on, Tigress – Vegas Strip is over this way."

Tigress smiled. "Of course," She said simply. She followed David into the New Vegas strip, where they both stopped to gaze upon the beauty of a post-apocalyptic city in the dark complete with casinos, hotels, and restaurants. Tigress scarcely knew where to start. She followed David's lead, walking into the Tops Casino and Hotel. The greeter either knew David or knew not to tangle with him and whoever was in his company, but either way, he greeted him with a hearty hello, and directed David and Tigress to the restaurant area where a comedian was on stage. Tigress and David sat close together, closer than they had sat ever before, holding hands, putting arms around shoulders, and eventually with Tigress resting her head on his shoulder, all while eating, drinking and laughing at the outrageous things the comedian was saying.

Tigress felt so... comfortable. It felt so right, being with David like this. Not armored up and armed to the teeth, not fighting raiders and super mutants, not trying to stay one step ahead of the Enclave. Just him and her, enjoying life together. Darcy's words still rang in Tigress's head. Tell him how you feel, she told her. She looked at David many times, seeing him happier than she'd ever seen him, coming close to telling him, coming so close to saying, "David, I love you," but still, she stopped herself in fear. She didn't want to feel his rejection, still feared it despite Darcy's assurances. It took every ounce of willpower she had to look at him, so clearly in love, and every ounce more to hold her tongue.

Before she knew it, she was teleporting back to David's vault, and laughing at some of the jokes the comedian had told. David showed her to a room, and she opened the door. She turned to David, who was turning to leave. She instinctively reached out, grabbing his hand, and stopping him. "David..." she pleaded. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't bring herself to say it. "... Thank you."

David smiled. "Anytime," he told her. She reluctantly released his hand, and watched him walk away, to his own room. _So close..._ she thought in dismay. She walked inside, looking into a mirror. She saw herself, staring back in disappointment.

"What are you doing?" her reflection asked her.

"I... I can't do it," she said, verging on tears.

"Yes, you can," her reflection assured her. "Stop hiding it. You love him."

"But he... he doesn't belong in the Valley," Tigress stated, tears flowing.

"He belongs better there than he does here," her reflection answered. "You know that. He deserves it. You both do."

"How do you know?" Tigress asked.

"Because we both have seen the hell he's been living in for two centuries. I don't know about you, but I couldn't live with myself forever knowing I'd left him in a place like that," her reflection replied.

"But our teachings-" Tigress started.

"Stop cowering behind our teachings of Kung Fu, Tigress," her reflection interrupted. "Beneath the cold, stoic exterior of a Kung Fu Master still lies the heart of a woman. There's more to life than discipline and sacrifice. There's no shame in love and passion. There never was. As you told him, stop pretending you have no feelings for him, because you and I both know you do."

"But what if he doesn't-" Tigress protested.

"Stop that, Tigress. You and I both know he does. He's just waiting for something," her reflection again interrupted. "Even if he didn't, I know you'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all. Stop delaying. Stop fighting it. This is your last chance. Don't waste it. Tell him. March into that room and tell him you love him. You wanted this - a man to love, a hand to hold, a mate who was your other half. Claim him. Claim him before it's too late."

Her reflection said nothing more, and Tigress's heart once again started racing. Tears flowed like rivers. Her hands shook. Her body trembled. She found herself running to David's room. Without so much as a knock on the door, she burst into David's room, catching him shirtless, and rushed him, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight. "I'm sorry, David," she sobbed, "I just can't fight it anymore. I... I just... I want you." David sighed softly, wrapping his arms around Tigress. "I couldn't say it before, because I didn't... I didn't know if you felt as I did," Tigress continued. "But I can't keep it in, anymore – I love you, David. I'll always love you. No matter what. If that means I stay in the hell of the wastes, then I would gladly do it, as long as I had you."

David smiled warmly, lifting Tigress's head to look her in the eyes. "I know," he told her. "I saw it in your eyes earlier. Char had that same look when I asked her to marry me. Sylvie got that look after I rescued her from those Vault 22 assholes. But you're the first woman to admit her feelings for me before I admit mine for them."

Tigress's eyes lit up. "You mean...?"

David nodded. "I do. It took me a while to realize it, but I love you, too. I always did. I haven't felt this way about any woman since Sylvie. I thought that part of me died with her. But, contrary to what I believed, I felt it for you. The last woman I ever thought I'd fall in love with. And I couldn't live with myself if I let you walk out of my life tomorrow."

"So... you're... coming with me?" She asked, feeling she already knew the answer.

"I'd rather live with you in a place I don't belong than live without you in the land I was born in," he affirmed.

Tigress felt so happy. He loved her. He wanted to go with her, to her time, to her home. They would live together forever, bound at the heart for eternity. It seemed so right that they leaned in, meeting at the lips, kissing as lifelong mates for the first time. They laid down in his bed, wrapped in each other's arms, drifting off to sleep looking into each other's eyes. "Good night, my love," was all they said to each other.

Tigress had no idea how long she and David had slept, but soon found herself waking to David's gentle voice. "Tigress... darling, wake up." Tigress's eyes cracked open, then opened fully to see David. She smiled, still clearly remembering the previous night.

"Good morning, honey," She said. They shared a brief kiss, and David said, "We don't have a lot of time, sweetheart – the gateway's fully-charged, and we have a lot of packing to do."

"Packing, yeah," Tigress yawned. "What's the target destination, though?"

"Well, for your return, I was hoping to go for a coup d'effect, a month after Po married Mei Ling. He'll be in the Valley, near Mei Ling's shop, wanting to talk about his troubles as it was recorded being typical after they wed, when we'll appear. I imagine the appearance of a Temporal Rift there, in that time, would bring people running."

"Well, if we're gonna make a big show of it, I'd recommend going in full armor," Tigress suggested. "They won't recognize us until we at least take off the helmets. Surprise, motherfucker!"

David laughed. "Well, then, come on! We gotta get started!"

Tigress and David went about packing everything in David's hideout – guns, explosives, ammo, sundries, melee weapons, everything – into the emitters, stuffing them to the limit. When it was all done, Tigress and David went down to the Temporal Gateway, and powered it up. David inputted the destination, time, and date, and stood by Tigress as the gateway powered up. Electricity crackled, sparks flew, and the rift shimmered, grew, and eventually appeared as that same swirling aperture she saw when Eden cast her forward in time.

"No going back?" Tigress asked.

"Nope," David responded. "It's a one-way trip. But if you could go back... would you really want to?"

Tigress smiled. "Not a chance," She answered, locking lips with David one more time before they both materialized armor. The stood at the precipice of a new adventure. It was now or never. Tigress started first, then David followed, and they both marched through the rift, their footsteps making a steady _thump-thump, thump-thump_ as they marched along.

_One road ends, another begins..._

(Oh, that's not the end, trust me. I already have Part II in the works. Just wait.)


	14. Part II, Chapter 13

**Part II:**

**Altered Past**

Chapter Thirteen

Po headed to Mei Ling's Sports Massage, intent on talking to his newlywed wife. He never knew why Tigress trained so hard until he ended up with her job. He never knew what it was like to be a leader. Ever since Tigress vanished, everyone had been looking to him. Sure, Tai Lung's army was a great help in covering ground Po couldn't, but the Furious Fighters were looking to him for leadership and guidance – two traits Po had his doubts he had.

Still, despite everyone believing she was dead, Po still believed she would come back. She would find a way. She always did. She was tough. Resilient. Capable. Clever. She never gave up. Many believed Eden had cast her adrift on the currents of time. But, as Oogway told Po in a dream, "Time flows ever onward." He knew one day, she would surface. It didn't matter if she ended up a hundred or a thousand years into the future or past, she would find a way back.

Po didn't even realize Mei Ling was standing outside when he arrived. "I know, honey – long day, don't feel like talking," she told him.

"I'm sorry, honey," Po apologized as they entered the shop.

"You've nothing to apologize for, dear," Mei Ling told her husband, gently massaging his shoulders. "You did nothing wrong."

"I should have stopped him," Po sighed. "She'd still be here if I had done something."

"Po, baby... let it go. You saw what happened that day – no one but Tigress could touch Eden. There's nothing you could have done," Mei Ling said.

"I know," Po admitted. "I just... wish she were still here. I never knew why she was so... well, like her, until I ended up with her job. I never wanted to be the one leading the Fighters."

"Maybe you should ask Tai Lung to take over?" Mei Ling suggested.

"Tai Lung... as great as he's been recently, he's got enough on his plate as it is," Po sighed. "Not only is he the Commander of an Army, but he-"

Po was cut short when a pig entered the room. "Master Po! Something's happening!" he exclaimed.

"What do you mean, 'something?'" Po asked.

"Come on! Hurry!" the pig urged him. Po and Mei Ling rose and walked outside, and just outside Mei Ling's shop, amidst a gathering of the Valley's denizens, an anomaly stood. It pulsated, sparking, crackling electricity, a light flashing at the center, as though something was trying to manifest itself. The flashing light steadily got larger with each pulse, sending arcs of harmless electricity and sparks, but the larger it got, the more it appeared to swirl, like...

Po's eyes went wide when he realized he'd seen this kind of anomaly before – on the day Eden cast Tigress through time. It was a Temporal Rift.

"Mei... fetch Tai Lung. Get him and his best down here. Now," Po told his wife. Mei Ling wordlessly acknowledged and ran to get Tai Lung, while Po pushed through the crowd to confront this anomaly head on. The anomaly continued to grow and pulsate, and Po, while hoping for the best, assumed a combat stance in case of the worst.

Tai Lung and several of his best arrived in short order, who took up positions around him and Po, rifles pointed at the anomaly, ready to shoot whatever came out should it be hostile. Tai Lung, himself, had his rifle ready to fire.

"Any ideas?" Tai Lung quietly asked Po.

"Not a clue," Po admitted.

It was then that a steady _thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump_ of heavy footfalls could be heard on the other side of the rift. The troops readied to fire, but when two armor-clad figures stepped out of the rift, both armed with different rifles still completely alien to everyone around them, everyone paused. The anomaly vanished behind them, and the two armored, faceless creatures stared at Po and Tai Lung. One of the armored creatures had a feminine look, the other definitely masculine.

_"__Told you they wouldn't recognize us,"_ the feminine one said.

_"__I never doubted it,"_ the male responded. _"__But we better put away the guns before they shoot us."_

_"__It's not like their bullets could harm us – not in this armor,"_ the female chuckled, slinging her weapon. The male did the same, and Tai Lung spoke,

"Who are you? What are you doing in this valley?"

The female didn't vocally respond, instead, tapping her gauntlet in a few places, and her helmet seemingly vanished. The face beneath shocked everyone in the immediate vicinity.

Staring them down, breathing, smiling, and alive in full color, was Master Tigress herself. Both Po and Tai Lung shared a look of complete shock. She tapped her gauntlet again, and the rest of the armor seemingly vanished into the gauntlets, revealing she was dressed in the same clothes she wore when she disappeared.

"... Tigress," Po whispered. "But... how? How did..."

"Alright, what's all the-" boomed Master Shifu's voice as he made his way through the crowd. He stopped, his jaw dropping, eyes wide, as he saw the source of the murmurs and whispers, and his face bore a look of complete astonishment. "Tigress...! You... you're alive!"

"Alive... and well, father. I have returned," Tigress affirmed.

"But... how?" Tai Lung asked. "How did... how did you get back?"

"To answer that," Tigress replied, "You'll have to talk to my mate, here." She indicated the armored masculine creature. As though on cue, he tapped on his gauntlet, and his armor disappeared, revealing the face of a white tiger. "Tai Lung... Po... Father... this is my mate, David."

David regarded the masses arrayed before him without expression. Hie eyes went from Po to Tai Lung, then to Mei Ling, and stopped on Shifu.

Shifu spoke first, but it was clear that this had knocked his wind out, as he could barely speak as he approached David: "You, uh... you are the... the one responsible for... for bringing Master Tigress back?"

David knelt to his level. "That I am, sir," he affirmed.

Shifu stopped in front of David, placing a hand on David's shoulder. "As the master of the Jade Palace... and a loving father... thank you, for bringing my daughter home," he said. "As far as I am concerned, you already earned your place in the Jade Palace. As Tigress's mate, you deserve no less."

David bowed his head. "Thank you, master," he said. "However... there are some details of what happened before we came here... that shouldn't be mentioned out here. May we have a private audience with you and the rest of the masters of the Jade Palace?"

"Of course, Master David," Shifu responded.

"Twinblade," Tigress corrected him. "As far as titles go, he is called Twinblade."

Shifu smiled. "Very well... master Twinblade. This way," He said, heading toward the steps to the Jade Palace. Tigress, however, approached Tai Lung.

"Tigress... for what it's worth, I'm sorry for how we-" Tai Lung began. He was cut short when Tigress reached out and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, too," she told him. "I didn't know at the time you were my brother."

Tai Lung looked surprised and pleased. "So you figured it out," he surmised.

"David told me," Tigress said. She released Tai Lung and turned to Po. "Po," she told him, "You've been my friend since the day you became the Dragon Warrior. You have helped me find emotions inside I previously didn't think I had. But, moreover, you've done an admirable job keeping the Fighters together in my... absence."

"I never knew why you took your job so seriously until I ended up with it," Po responded. "Tigress..." he paused, then hugged Tigress. "... Welcome home," he whispered.

"We should head to the Jade Palace," David suggested. "The story Tigress and I have to tell is not a short one." Po released Tigress, and they all marched up the steps to the Jade Palace. The trip up the steps to the Jade Palace was shorter than Tigress remembered – indeed, before she knew it, she was walking into the courtyard of the Palace, where Crane, Viper, Mantis, and Monkey were waiting.

"Tigress!" Viper exclaimed. "You're back!"

"We thought you were gone for good!" Mantis chimed in.

"Who's that with you?" Crane asked.

"My friends, this is my mate, David – and he and I have a long story to tell," Tigress told them.

"Wait a sec – did you just say that man is your _mate_?" Monkey queried.

"Sure did," David affirmed with a nod. "Trust me – it'll be explained in a bit. I don't know about any of you, but I'm starving."

"Starving?" Po repeated. His eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "Oh, crap! I knew I was forgetting something!" He ran back down to the valley. Tigress and David looked to Mei Ling.

"What was he forgetting?" they asked in unison.

"Likely ingredients for his special soup he planned on cooking tonight," Mei Ling answered. "Can't say I blame him for forgetting, though – none of us were expecting you to just appear out of nowhere, let alone with a mate."

"Yeah, well, David and I wanted to go for a, uh... David, what did you call it?" Tigress asked.

"She and I were going for a coup d'effect," David answered. "A big show, basically."

"I see," Mei Ling chuckled. "Well, I'd say you accomplished that marvelously."

"I'd be inclined to agree," Shifu said. "I imagine you've caused quite a stir in the Valley."

"Master David... that weapon you're carrying... may I see it?" Tai Lung asked. David paused regarding Tai Lung with suspicion, but with assurances from Tigress, David unslung his weapon, flipped the safety on, and handed it to Tai Lung.

"Be careful with that," he said. "That's a modded Dragon Arms M37 Dual-Purpose Assault Rifle. One of the many weapons Tigress and I have."

"Meaning you and Tigress have more than this?" Tai Lung guessed.

In an affirmation, Tigress materialized her Modded Kalashnikov Rifle, and David his TDR. "Believe me, Tai Lung – we're packing a full armory in these emitters," Tigress said.

"Impressive weaponry," Tai Lung complimented, examining the M37 further. "So complex, so... deadly. I'll have to sit down with you at some point and discuss it. The troops could use weapons like these, and if you're packing a full armory in those... emitters... I think I have a place you can store them."

David smiled. "We can discuss that later, after I've settled in," he said.

"Of course," Tai Lung said, handing the M37 back to David. He then proceeded to the living quarters, and Viper looked between him and David, finally telling David,

"Been here an hour, and you've already made a buddy," she said.

"I imagine it's because he and I are both militants," David commented. "But I'd better explain to him why these weapons should be kept in reserve for emergencies only."

"Why?" Viper asked. "Tai Lung's army could use a major edge, especially if Eden comes back to finish what he started here."

"That would constitute as an emergency, yes – but the weapons Tigress and I are packing are centuries more advanced than anything ever available here," David responded. "I can't risk these weapons falling into the wrong hands. Tigress and I have used these weapons long enough – we know the kind of damage they can do should the Valley's enemies get their hands on them."

"True, but we both know these weapons, David – and we know how to counter them. Defend against them. They don't. They have no armor to deflect the shots. No ammo to get through our armor. No knowledge how to use these weapons. We can teach the army what we know," Tigress told David. David murmured something to Tigress, who simply said, "I know. But what that will create is a future free of the hell you had lived in for two centuries. You're going that far already – it won't be so bad to go further."

"Did she just say you've been around for two _centuries_?" Mei Ling asked in disbelief.

"Two hundred twenty-five years, to be exact," David affirmed. "Again... it'll be explained later, likely over dinner."

"This, I gotta hear," Crane commented. "I've heard of some pretty old warriors renowned for longevity, but to be two hundred twenty-five years old and look that young... man, that blows everyone else out of the water."

"What was that? Did I hear that right?" asked Po's voice as he came back with arms full of cooking supplies. "Tigress's mate is over two centuries old?"

"Can you people lay off the questions?" David growled. "I said I-" Tigress quickly silenced him, and spoke,

"Guys, please... don't. Be patient, he will explain at dinner," Tigress pleaded with the others. The others stowed all other questions, and led David into the living quarters. Po and Tai Lung went about cooking, while the others showed David and Tigress to Tigress's room.

"Hm... smaller than I remember," Tigress commented. She remembered something, then turned to David. "Darling, those remodeling emitters we packed from storage... could they be used on this room?"

David frowned slightly, then comprehension dawned. "If we enclose this room for a bit, sure, we could. Damn good thinking, honey," he said. He gestured, and a barricade of bricks appeared in the window. He and Tigress then went about setting up an odd device in the center of the room, then smaller devices connected to it in the room corners, while the others looked on in confusion. "What kind of layout did you want, dear?" David asked.

"Familiar territory for us both – that Vault setup you had back in Vegas," Tigress answered.

"Okay," David said, apparently not minding Tigress's choice. They fiddled with the devices for a bit, and finished as Tai Lung came walking in.

"Dinner's ready," he reported. Tigress walked out of the room first, then David, and Tigress shut the doors.

"Trust me, guys – it's best if we stay out of there while the emitters are working. I don't know what'll happen if the doors are opened before the process is complete," David warned.

"Not to worry," Shifu assured him, "I imagine we'll be preoccupied enough by the stories you and Tigress have to share."

Tigress and David followed the others to the dining area, where two seats were situated side-by-side at one end of the table, and a similar setup occupied by Po and Mei Ling on the opposite side. Tigress and David sat down, and Tai Lung began distributing the bowls of soup as Shifu asked, "Now, Tigress, David... what's the big secret? Why a clandestine meeting here just to explain how you got back?"

Tigress sighed, then began to tell the tale of what happened, with David pitching in and explaining certain parts, starting with her arrival to the American Wasteland, meeting David, how he saved her life and made her as immortal as he, then the training, the escapades in DC, what she learned of what happened in the Valley after she was thrown into David's time line, after which, she went on to explain the hunt for the power module, being captured by the Enclave and destroying their base at Raven Rock, then the cross-country trek from DC to Vegas, the stint in Zion, the Vegas night life, and culminating in her taking David as her lover and coming back to Tigress's time, ending the story in their current situation. When it was all done, the Fighters remained quiet. Shifu let loose a long sigh.

"That's... quite a tale," he said. "David, you've done far more for my daughter than I initially suspected. I stand by what I said before, more so now than earlier – you've more than earned your place in the Jade Palace. This... Eden... I imagine you are also here to destroy him?"

"That's correct, sir," David answered. "Destroy him to prevent the tragedy that befell my own time."

"But if that happens... nothing you will have done with Tigress will have happened," Viper said. "You'll cease to exist."

"Wrong," David corrected her. "My armor is equipped with temporal technology stolen from Eden and the Enclave, technology that was designed to protect against temporal anomalies and tested by Eden himself. They will protect me."

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Monkey asked.

"You don't survive for two hundred years without planning for every possible outcome. My number one motto for such things is, Hope for the best, plan for the worst," David answered.

"This... serum, this concoction you used to make Tigress immortal... could you do the same for us? For others?" Tai Lung asked.

"Could I do it for you? Absolutely. Could I do it for others? Hell no," David responded. "Reason being, you all have training others don't. You all can use the powers you'd end up with responsibly. Others... not so much. I let my serum, my immortality, my powers, get loose... It'd do far more harm than good. A thousand little wars will erupt from petty grudges and rivalries over time."

"A responsible outlook on such things," Shifu said.

"Even so," David continued, "Would you really want to be immortal? Could you live like that, never knowing what paradise in the afterlife looks like?"

"We live in paradise, all the time," Mantis said. "Why would we want to leave this paradise for another?"

"And from what I've gathered," Shifu agreed, "We'd merely be immortal, not invulnerable. There would still be opportunities to see paradise in the afterlife."

"I agree," Viper said.

"Same here," Crane added.

"What of... what of our future children?" Po asked. "Would they be as immortal as us?"

"I'd imagine so, since the serum affects everything in you. If you were immortal when your children are conceived... chances are, they will be, too," David sighed. A long pause followed, before David said, "Well, if you all are serious about this... it's a damn good thing I have a workshop being set up by those remodeling emitters."

"How long did the console say it would take to set it all up?" Tigress asked.

"An hour," David answered. He looked at the time on his gauntlet, then shrugged. "It's been two. I imagine it's done at this point."

They all finished their meal and rose, approached Tigress's room, opened the door to reveal a red-lit chamber with another door alien to all but David and Tigress. They approached the door, and the door sensed their presence and opened vertically.

"That's a neat trick," Po commented.

Beyond the door was the same setup David had in his personal vault outside Vegas, but Crane, Viper, Monkey, Mantis, Mei Ling, Shifu and Tai Lung couldn't help but stare in awe at the setup.

"How is this possible?" Shifu asked.

"Believe me, master, it's probably better I don't explain," David answered. "I don't understand how it works much myself, but suffice to say, America's military technologies weren't the only badass American technologies. Before the war, the Civilian tech market was quite... diverse. Remodeling emitters that make spaces like this were a cheaper, faster alternative to remodeling projects."

"Since we're in here, dear," Tigress suggested, "Maybe we should unload the armory in our emitters?"

"Yeah, probably should," David admitted. He and Tigress moved to the Armory, there they both plugged their armored gauntlets in, and like magic, the weapons they'd been carrying suddenly materialized on the walls, the ammo on the shelves, explosives, armors, everything.

"Whoa," the others said in unison.

"Two hundred years is a long time to amass a stockpile of weapons," David said. "To say nothing about the ammo, explosives, and armor."

"Could you possibly teach-" Tai Lung began.

"Tai Lung... David just arrived here. Let him get settled in, get used to living here. He can teach your army in due time," Shifu interrupted him.

"Could I teach your army to use weapons from hundreds of years in the future? Perhaps," David responded. "But first – Shifu is right. I just got here. Let me settle in. Second, If I do teach them, they will have to swear to never let anyone outside your army get their hands on these weapons. No civilians begging for help, no mercenaries, no one. It's risky enough letting your army use them, and I am letting you do so because I know what your army became. If I train your army in my ways of battle and combat, you and yours must swear to guard these weapons and technologies with your lives. Do I make myself clear, General?"

"Crystal, Master David. Crystal clear," Tai Lung answered.

Nothing more was said on the subject. When everyone turned in for the night, Tigress and David retired to their new Vault-Tech remodeled room, crawling into bed and drifting off to sleep cradled in each other's arms...


	15. Part II, Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Tigress awoke to the morning Gong, still wrapped in David's arms. She leapt out of bed, threw on a fresh set of clothes, and rushed outside. "Good morning, mast-" she started, stopping herself when she saw no one in the immediate vicinity. She was about to head back into her room when Shifu appeared in the hall. "You're awake," he said. "A little later than usual, but I can't blame you. Not after everything you and David survived."

Tigress sighed with relief. "Gotta get back into the regular routine here. My apologies fa—master," she apologized, refraining from calling Shifu "father".

"Tigress, you've no need to apologize; first, it's Saturday. Second, you just got back from an incredible – not to mention traumatic – adventure. Even if it was Monday, I would not make you get up after what you and David went through," Shifu assured her. He paused, then added, "Speaking of David, may I speak to him?"

Tigress was about to respond when she heard metallic clicking coming from the bedroom. She and Shifu went over to find David, awake, dressed in a camouflage-colored, Chinese-styled tunic and pants, standard shoes, his armor gauntlets in Bracer setting, and he was stuffing a pistol in a belt-mounted holster. He was reaching for an olive drab-colored rifle leaning against the night stand when he noticed Tigress and Shifu standing in the doorway.

"Was I too late getting up?" he asked.

It took a moment for Shifu to answer, "Not today – Saturdays and Sundays we don't generally get up at morning gong." He paused, then asked, "Is it customary for Americans to travel so heavily-armed?"

"Not for Americans, no," David responded with the shake of his head. "Before the war, even the wealthiest Americans didn't feel the need to travel so well-equipped, and if they did, they were called over-prepared, paranoid, or – god forbid – terrorists. I travel like this because, well, I'd been doing it so long, it's become second nature to me."

Shifu thought for a moment, then recomposed himself. "Fair enough. I imagine surviving in the wasteland for two hundred years has had its effects on you two."

"Traveling armed wasn't the only effect," Tigress said with a smile, never looking away from David. David smiled back, then walked to and gently kissed Tigress. Shifu only chuckled.

"Well, I imagine that, assuming he's up at this point, Po is cooking breakfast," he said. "And his secret ingredient porridge is the best."

"If that's the case, I imagine I'll enjoy it," David responded, picking up his rifle. "I gotta tell you – spending two centuries eating the same soup for nearly every meal, it really gets to you."

"Your soup wasn't that bad, dear," Tigress assured David. "I quite enjoyed it."

"Did I hear that right?" Shifu asked as they stepped into the hall. "You can cook, too?"

"Yeah," David responded, as though his cooking skills were a foregone conclusion. "Back in the day, before everything was nuked, my Tofu Burgers were the best. Won a medal at a cook-off for it. Sadly, that medal was at my house in Salt Lake City when the nukes destroyed it."

Tigress gently grabbed and gripped David's hand, just in case. She knew all too well how he sometimes got when discussing his past.

"A Tofu Burger, huh?" Shifu asked. "Never heard of such a thing, but now, I gotta try one. We grow tofu here, you know."

"Oh, goodie!" David stated with an odd accent. "Back in the wasteland, Tofu was a rare find. _Very_ rare, in fact."

"If it was so rare, how did you perfect your recipe for Tofu Burgers?" Shifu inquired.

"As I implied earlier, been cooking them for myself long before the apocalypse," David answered. "Dunno what happened to all the tofu when the bombs fell, though – all I remember is that I was lucky to find any."

"Can you cook anything with Tofu besides burgers?" Shifu queried.

"Oh, definitely!" David affirmed. "I can cook it into Spaghetti, burritos, pasta stroganoff... there's a lot I can do with Tofu."

It was as David finished that statement that he, Shifu and Tigress walked into the dining area. Po was already present, cooking up the morning meal. "Seems you have some cooking competition, Po," Shifu chuckled.

"Is that right?" Po asked without looking away from the food he was cooking. "I'd love to see what you can cook up."

"You'd be surprised what I can cook up," David said. "How soon 'till that's ready?"

"Just a few more minutes – go ahead, take a seat," Po answered.

David leaned his rifle against a wall, and then sat down next to Tigress, his hand holding hers on the tabletop. Shifu sat nearby. "While I am glad Tigress found a mate, I do admit to being a bit taken aback by the fact it was you, David. For one thing, you are from another time line, to say nothing about how you hail from another country. But, as different as you are, I am happy for you both."

"Yeah, months of fighting god-only-knows how many different enemies and going from one side of America to the other, not to mention... coming face-to-face with ghosts of my past... has a strange way of bringing people together," David sighed. "When I started down this path with Tigress, the last thing I expected was to fall in love with her. I had thought that such feelings had died with Sylvie and Michael. But, as unlikely as I thought it was, Tigress stepped in to fill the gap left by the two women in my life that I'd lost."

"Despite her... stoic exterior, Tigress is a very caring woman. She wouldn't have chosen you if she didn't truly feel for you," Shifu said. "Po described her as hardcore, and such a description... really seemed to bring out the Tigress you came to love. Still... I imagine she was... trying, at times."

"Trying?" David repeated. With a shake of his head, he said, "No. I mean no offense when I say your daughter was not trying. Compared to what I've seen, the things I've done, the dead that haunt my sleep... Tigress is not trying. Unlike Char, Tigress understands my militant, survivalist habits; unlike Sylvie, Tigress is skilled and is not afraid to fight... and like me, Tigress is strong, tough... resilient. No, Tigress was not trying. In fact, she was, and is, quite the contrary."

Shifu smiled. "And I am glad to see my daughter's mate thinks so highly of her," he told David. "My only hope is that you will come to find peace here. No one deserves to go through what you survived."

"And what he survived left a lot of scars," Tigress said. "So please – don't dig into his past, not unless he is willing to speak of it."

"Fair enough," Shifu answered. "I will not pry. I cannot speak for the others, however – that will be up to you two."

"Very well," David stated. At that moment, Viper and Crane walked in.

"Well, you two are up earlier than expected," Crane commented. "Given everything you two went through to get here, I'd have thought you'd sleep in, for sure."

"How are you feeling, David?" Viper asked.

David looked lovingly into Tigress's eyes, smiling as he said, "I'm just fine." Tigress smiled back, leaning in and briefly kissing him.

"Look at that – Tigress is actually willing to kiss someone in front of us," Crane chuckled.

"You would, too, if you had a woman you loved that much," Po said. He set Tigress and David's bowls down before them. "Was I any different when I came to love Mei Ling?"

"Speaking of Mei Ling, where is she?" Shifu asked.

Po was about to speak when his wife appeared in the doorway. "Right here," she said. "You didn't think I'd miss breakfast with Tigress's boyfriend, did you?"

David shrugged and took a sip of the Porridge. "Mm... interesting taste," he commented. "Tangy, original... but there's something a bit... different, yet good... in this stuff."

"There's a reason he calls it his Secret Ingredient Porridge," Mei Ling told him.

"Right," David said.

"If I may offer a piece of advice for today, David," Po said, "Save your evening appetite for tonight."

"What for?" David and Tigress asked simultaneously.

"Oh, that reminds me," Shifu stated, sitting up, "You two chose an opportune time to rejoin us – the winter festival is tonight. Plenty of feasting, festivities, and music."

Tigress looked surprised. "That's...? I had forgotten!" She looked to David. "The Winter festival is a good place to be – we can unwind from our journey there, and the people can get to know you better."

"You said they did music there?" David asked. "What kind of music?"

"All sorts, why...?" Shifu paused after asking why, and comprehension dawned. "It may interest you to know that bards from various provinces sing during the festival. And given your question, I imagine you have music of your own you could sing there."

"American music at a Chinese festival... _That_ is going to be interesting," Po commented. "What kind of songs do you know?"

"I know a few... classics," David responded. "Fast-paced, good beat, perfect to dance to. I'd just need to dig them out of my music archives."

"What are some of them?" Mei Ling asked.

"Well, the fastest one I know is called... oh, what was the name...? OH! 'A Light that never comes'," David answered.

"That sounds... dark," Po remarked. Everyone at the table burst out laughing.

"It's not as dark as you'd think, Po, trust me," David stated. "It's actually quite spirited."

"You said you had it in an archive?" Shifu inquired. "Where is your archive?"

"It-" David started, but unexpectedly stopped. He then snapped his fingers and exclaimed "Oh, sh—I forgot to set that up. Excuse me." He downed the bowl of porridge and dashed to his and Tigress's room. Shifu looked to Tigress.

"What did he forget?" he asked.

"Likely to plug in the computer that has all his music," Tigress responded.

"I didn't take him for the singing type," Viper admitted.

"Trust me, Viper, there are a lot of things he does that'll surprise you," Tigress said as Tai Lung walked in.

"Like his vast collection of weapons, many of which are designs so... alien, but still far deadlier than anything my forces have," he said. He bent over to kiss Tigress on the cheek. "Good morning, sister."

Tigress chuckled. "Good morning, Tai Lung," she said. Almost immediately after she said that, they could hear an electronic beat. Shortly thereafter, they heard a voice sing,

_"__Nah, you don't know me; lightning above and a fire below me; you cannot catch me, cannot hold me, you cannot stop, much less control me; when it rains, it pours, when the flood gates open, brace your shores, that pressure don't care if it breaks your doors, say it's all you can take, better take some more..."_

"Wow," Viper remarked as she got up with everyone else to investigate. "That _is_ a good beat."

"Catchy," Crane commented. They followed the voice back to David and Tigress's bedroom in time to see David as he sang along,

_"__The nights, go on, waiting for a light that never comes! I chase, the sun, waiting for a light that never comes!"_

"Color me impressed," Shifu said with a broad smile. "This is very spirited music! How did you come across this music?"

"Got it when I was a kid," David responded. "Took a lot of practice to be able to sing along with the pace."

It was then that Monkey came in moving along with the beat of the music, with Mantis trying to stay on his shoulder. "Okay, Monkey, I get it! You like it! Can you please stop dancing?"

Shifu chuckled. "This will make a superb addition to the festival music. What else do you have?"

"See for yourself," David offered, indicating his computer. He fiddled with it momentarily, then ushered Shifu forward. Shifu got onto the chair, and was impressed with the readout.

"Wow," he commented, "Quite the collection." He paused, then added, "But then, two hundred years is a long time to build up a collection like this."

"Nope – this collection was made long before the Nuclear Apocalypse," David replied. "All of that is music I grew up listening to."

Shifu hummed, then tapped a song labeled "In My Remains". The song immediately switched to a slower-paced tune of electronic tones, then a beat, and finally, a voice began, _"__Separate, sifting through the wreckage, I can't concentrate, searching for a message in the fear and pain, broken down and waiting for a chance, to feel alive! Now in my remains, are promises that never came; set this silence free, to wash away the worst of me!"_

"Very interesting," Shifu said. "American music... Which ones exactly did you intend to sing at the festival?"

"Stiiiill haven't quite decided that, yet," David admitted. "I can say right now that 'A Light that never comes' will definitely be on that list, seeing the reaction it got from you all."

"Actually, maybe Master Shifu should pick the songs – he knows the Winter Festival better than you, David – no offense – and would be better able to judge what songs would be appropriate," Po suggested.

David shrugged. "Fair enough," he commented. "But, I don't know if you noticed, but given how suddenly you said that, you indirectly implied you wanted to show me something."

Tigress shook her head and rolled her eyes with a smile. "Nothing ever gets past you, does it, David?" she chuckled.

David smiled back. "You know me, darling – I see things most others don't think I can see."

"Well, in this case, you're right," Po affirmed. "My father would definitely like to meet you."

"And while you are visiting Mr. Ping, I will also have time to break the news of your arrival, David," Shifu agreed. "As I only – albeit regrettably and heavy heartedly – sent news of Tigress's... demise... a month ago. According to the responses, they will be gathering here at the palace during the feast to honor her memory."

"Imagine their surprise to learn that Tigress is _alive_," Monkey remarked.

"And that implies they'd want to meet me," David grumbled. "Great."

"It is a great honor, David. And the masters of the other provinces, I imagine, will want to thank you for returning Tigress to her home," Shifu assured him.

"Be that as it may, I'm not sure putting a militant like me amongst a gathering of Kung Fu masters is a good idea," David stated. "Last thing I want is to offend someone inadvertently."

"Don't worry, David – I'll be right beside you," Tigress assured her lover.

"Listen to her, David – she's been to many winter feasts before," Shifu said.

David was about to voice something when Po interrupted, "I, uh... I hate to interrupt, but I'd kinda like to introduce you to dad before he gets too busy cooking for the festival."

David paused, nodded, and recomposed himself. "Just let me gather my effects." He went about gathering a few things – extra mags for his pistol and rifle being among the items gathered – then checked to see if his armor systems were in working order, and finished by energizing the shield.

"Are you always so-" Po began.

"-Paranoid? Cautious? Over-prepared?" David finished. "No. This is just standard practice for me upon entering... unfamiliar territory."

"Well, I can't imagine why you'd need a rifle like that in my father's noodle shop," Po commented. He paused, then added, "But, I guess you have reasons for being so... well-equipped."

"Trust me, Po – you don't survive for two centuries by being anything other than 'well-equipped'. In any event, let's get moving," David responded. Po, David and Tigress then moved out of the palace, heading down into the valley.

The descent into the valley was over before anyone knew it, as Tigress and David found themselves following Po and Mei Ling into Mr. Ping's noodle shop. Mr. Ping was all too happy to see Po.

"Po!" he exclaimed in greeting, "So good to see you again! And Mei Ling, my dear! What brings the two of you here?"

"Dad, were you present during the... incident... yesterday?" Po asked.

"No, sadly," Ping admitted, "I'd love to see for myself if you were right, and Tigress-" He stopped, seeing Tigress and David standing there. "Tigress...? Tigress?!" He laughed, then said, "So it's true! You have returned!"

"And I did not return alone, Mr. Ping," Tigress responded with a smile. Looping an arm through David's, she added, "This is my mate, David."

David and Ping stared at each other for a long time, until David looked to his rifle, clicked something on it, slung it, and extended a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Ping. David Viktor Priznat, at your service."

Mister Ping eventually smiled, shaking David's hand. "Good to meet you, sir! I hear it is you who brought Master Tigress home."

"You aren't mistaken, sir," David answered. "I don't know how well-versed you are in the workings of time travel, so I will simply say I brought her home using a method similar to the one with which she was flung into my time in the first place."

"Well, admittedly, I had feared she had been cast forever adrift on the currents of time," Ping sighed. "I never imagined she'd return to us."

"To quote a wise dragon I knew, _'__Tiid bo alun amativ'_ \- Time flows ever onward," David said, earning a surprised look from Po. "Even though the intent was to cast Tigress adrift forever on the currents of time, Eden did not know then what he knew in my time. I read about the incident so many times, and even then, I knew better – I knew, one day, she would surface."

"Ahh, I see you are quite... philosophical and intelligent," Ping stated. "But I am no expert in such things." He paused, then asked, "Who was the dragon that said that?"

"An aged, wise dragon I knew as Paarthurnax," David sighed. "Sadly, he did not survive the war that consumed my homeland."

"Dad," Po said, "You said you needed help with your decorations?"

"Ah! Yes, the decorations! We have much to do!" Ping answered excitedly. As he went about hurriedly setting things up, David slightly inclined his head.

"He seems... overly excited," he whispered to Tigress.

"He's always like that. Most of the time, he has such a sunny disposition," Tigress responded. "Many in the valley like that about him."

"Fair enough," David commented. "I've met plenty of people with a sunny disposition – the sunniest I've known is also one you've met – remember Moira Brown?"

"Oh, _her_... her disposition was so sunny, it was creepy," Tigress grumbled.

"No arguments here," David agreed. "But she, from time to time, had some useful stuff."

Tigress moved her head to one side in a nod and said, "True. But still-"

"Tigress?" came a voice all too familiar to Tigress, yet still one she had not heard in some time. She turned to see Master Thundering Rhino staring at her in disbelief. She bowed in respect, motioning for David to do the same.

"Master Rhino," Tigress greeted him.

"But... master Shifu sent word you were dead," Rhino stammered. "The news of your demise was confirmed by-by Po and the others!"

"While there was no evidence that I was alive at the time, the reports of my demise were – thankfully – incorrect," Tigress remarked with a smile.

"Apparently!" Rhino agreed. Indicating David, he asked, "And who's this? I've not seen a tiger as him before. Are you new here, sir?"

David's eyes narrowed, a quiet growl coming from his throat that only Tigress heard, and his hand drifted to his holstered pistol. Tigress immediately saw this, and her hand quickly grabbed him by the wrist. David's head snapped to face her, and she subtly shook his head. No words were spoken, but David got her message.

"He's a friend."

David's hand dropped away from the pistol's grip. "Suspicious, I see," Rhino commented.

"Suspicious..." David repeated. He sighed, then faced Rhino. "Suspicion, mistrust and caution have kept me alive for many, many years. Where I am from, one tends to learn quickly from mistakes made in gullibility."

"And where are you from, exactly?" Rhino asked.

"That... is a tale for another time. Perhaps during the feast at the Jade Palace," David responded. He bowed and added, "If you will excuse me." He then walked away, his feet still making that heavy _thump, thump, thump_ as he strolled through the crowds. The citizens generally moved out of his way, whether in fear or respect. Tigress watched him walk deeper into the valley, even as Rhino and Mr. Ping walked over beside her.

"He doesn't say much, does he?" Rhino asked Tigress.

"No," Tigress sighed, "And I don't blame him, considering what he and I went through just getting here, to say nothing about the events and tragedies that befell him in the two centuries before he met me. On top of that... the Valley is still very new to him."

"Oh, that is quite understandable," Mr. Ping said. "He needs time to adjust to life here."

"And to understand that he doesn't have to be so cynical here," Tigress said. "But, as he said, we will explain during the feast at the Jade Palace... when all the masters are present. Believe me, the story of how we met and got back here is neither a short nor happy tale. While it did end in him and I together forever, it was not without hardship." She walked off at the last statement, following David in an effort to catch up with him. When she did catch up with him in the market, she stopped him. "David," she told him, "I know this place is so new to you. I know you need time to adjust to it. I understand that. But _you_ need to understand that this isn't the wild-and-wooly wasteland you spent so many years in. The people here are not your enemy. There's no Enclave here, no Legion, no raiders. You don't have to live in fear."

"I know, Tigress. But you said it yourself: I need time to... adjust to this place. I... _we_... only just arrived here yesterday afternoon," David explained. He leaned on Tigress as he told her, "You trusted me in my homeland, and I did not lead you astray; now, I trust you in your homeland, and I know you will not lead me astray. I trust you because I know you and you know me. We understand each other, and what makes us the way we are."

"I know, David," Tigress answered, "But again, this isn't the wasteland. This is a safe place. This is my home. You don't have anything to fear from these people. Even if you did..." Tigress paused and lifted David's eyes to look into hers. "As you wouldn't let anything happen to me, I will not let anything happen to you." She placed a hand on his cheek. "I promise."

David smiled, leaned in, and kissed Tigress, both of them wrapping their arms around each other. "Now _that's_ a sight to see," one of the nearby rabbits commented.

It was when they broke their kiss that they were approached by Po. "Tigress, David, come on – the Feast will be starting shortly! The masters are all very interested in David."

"I still don't think putting a militant like me in a feast with Kung Fu masters from different provinces is a good idea," David sighed.

"You'll do fine, dear," Tigress assured him. "Just follow my lead." She took his hand, and lead him up the steps to the jade palace...


	16. Part II, Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

After Tigress, David and Po got to the Jade Palace Courtyard, they met up with Mei Ling. It was as Tigress, Po, David and Mei Ling walked into the hall where the feast was being held that they overheard Thundering Rhino and Croc talking to Shifu.

"... The moment I spoke to him, he went for a weapon," Rhino told Shifu. "I am merely worried that he may not be well."

"Are we certain that he is stable?" Croc asked.

"Stable or no, Tigress seems to hold a significant influence over him," Rhino corrected Croc. "When he went for his weapon, she stopped him. He listens to her, even though she may not speak anything. Again, I am worried that something's bothering him."

"I only just met him yesterday afternoon," Shifu admitted. "I know little more than what he and Tigress explained to me. But, even from that, I can say with certainty that David has been through many ordeals and traumas. Such things always leave their scars."

"That they do," Croc agreed. "But still – what happened to him that arouses such suspicion in people he hasn't even met?"

Tigress was about to take David's hand and lead him over to speak to the masters when she discovered David was no longer next to her. Instead, she saw him walking over, assault rifle in hand, to Master Thundering Rhino. "Master Rhino," he spoke with a bow, "I offer my apologies for how we first met. It was not my intention to intimidate nor threaten you."

Rhino looked surprised, but bowed in return. "Apology accepted, Master David. It was neither my intention to arouse your suspicion. But... I still must ask, what drives your suspicion of me?"

"I have nothing against you, if that's what you think," David responded. "But, as I implied before, gullibility has harmed me in the past. I will not fall victim to it again."

"I admire your vigilance," Rhino said. "But know that I have no intention of harming you. You do, however, raise many questions."

"So I imagine," David stated. "But again, I'd prefer to discuss those questions... during the feast, when the rest of the masters are present. However... I must ask that what I say is kept between us during the feast; some details... shouldn't be mentioned to the general populace."

"Why not?" Croc asked.

"It would turn them against us if they knew. Believe me, you will understand why when I explain," David answered. He flipped the safety on his rifle, bowed once more, and said, "Excuse me." With that, he left for his and Tigress's room. Tigress walked over beside Rhino, still watching David.

"He hasn't even been here a full twenty-four hours, and already, he's showing signs of improvement," Tigress said with a smile.

"How so?" Shifu asked.

"That's the first time I've ever heard him apologize to someone – and he did so without me telling or asking him to," Tigress explained. "He's not as out-of-place here as he thought he would be."

There was a pause as Rhino looked between David and Tigress, then told Tigress, "You should see how you look at him, Master Tigress."

"Oh, right," Shifu said, "I forgot to mention – when David arrived here with Tigress, Tigress introduced him as her mate."

Croc's eyes went wide and his eye ridges went up. "Is that right?" he asked, clearly shocked. "Master Tigress has found herself a mate?"

"Over the course of several months of fighting various enemies, missions, survivalist activity and going from one end of his homeland to the other, yes," Tigress affirmed. "I am proud to say he is my mate."

Rhino smiled and Croc chuckled. "I never thought I'd live to see the day you actually found a mate," Rhino said. He gently slapped Tigress's back. "Congratulations."

"I will warn you now, masters – he is not one to make idle threats, and if provoked, he can prove a fatal foe. He is not afraid to kill; for the sake of all of us, him included, don't provoke his anger and violence," Tigress warned. "I have seen what he is capable of. I, myself, can fight as he does, so I alone know what he'll do to us should we anger him. However, despite all that, he has a soft side. Just as he is capable of unspeakable violence and destruction, the same can be said of his compassion and kindness; he is not without mercy."

"While I am certain you speak truth, I must ask, if he's so dangerous, why did you bring him here?" Croc asked.

"As I explained to father... he deserved better than what he'd been forced to live with," Tigress responded. "I saw the world he lived in. I saw the hell he endured. After seeing everything he'd been through, the pain, the torment, the ghosts of his past... I brought him here to find peace in the face of his... troubled history."

Rhino smiled. "You brought him to the right place for that," he said. "And don't think how you hold such a powerful influence over him went unnoticed. I saw how you stopped him from pulling a gun on me. If anyone can change him, help him find peace, it's you."

"With respect, master, I hold such an influence over him because he trusts me; I'm the closest thing to family he's had in two centuries. On top of that, he trusts me because he knows me. It is my belief that the more he knows the rest of us, the more we show him we are not his enemy, the more he will trust us," Tigress explained. She headed after David, and Croc asked,

"Where are you going?"

"To make sure David is alright," Tigress answered.

Though steadily heading out of the hall, she was able to hear Shifu tell the other masters, "Let her be – she has every right to be concerned for her mate."

She followed David's unique feeling in her expanded senses and found him unloading his weapons. She knew immediately what to say: "That was a good thing you did back there, making an apology to Master Thundering Rhino."

"It seemed like the right thing to do," David responded, ejecting the magazine for his pistol and placing them both on the nightstand. He was about to turn and face Tigress when Tigress came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She planted a tender kiss on his shoulder and whispered,

"I understand why you are so mistrusting, David. In the wasteland, our enemies vastly outnumbered our allies. I understand that, and I don't blame you. You have every right to be cautious. But again, this is my home land, I know it very well. I will not let any harm come to you."

"I know, darling," David said. "I'm... not used to such pleasantries. Such friendly demeanor in most people sets off red flags in my head indicating deception or otherwise ulterior motives."

Krystal chuckled. "And here, I thought you'd welcome such friendly people. But I don't blame you – as I said, after what you and I went through, you have every reason to be cautious. But give the people here a chance. Don't push them away. Let them in, the same way you let me in."

"That's what I'm afraid of doing," David murmured. "I tried to let people in before – when they learned of my immortality, they turned on me, tried to take my secrets for their own."

"The people here won't turn on you, baby," Tigress assured David. "With the show we put on then yesterday, they know you're my mate – and they know to respect you. Any man worthy of being such to me is worthy of respect to them."

David chuckled softly. "Fair enough. But you said it yourself – you understand my cynical caution. You said yourself I need time to adjust to this place."

"I know, sweetheart. We have plenty of time," Tigress whispered. "We have eternity. Give this place a chance."

David turned within Tigress's arms to face her. "I will, honey, I will." He leaned his head on hers as he added, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't willing to give this place a chance... if I didn't trust you."

It was then that Shifu made his presence known with the clearing of his throat. "As much as I don't want to interrupt a sentimental moment between two lovers, the masters are here and ready to begin the feast. And David... they have agreed to disregard any... inappropriate gestures from you, seeing as you just recently arrived here."

David turned and bowed to Shifu. "Thank you, master," he said.

Shifu returned the bow. "Anytime, David," he responded. "The masters are waiting. This way." David and Tigress followed Shifu to the dining area, where the masters were all seated, with the Furious Fighters seated with them. The masters not present before looked on in shock as David and Tigress entered the room.

"Wow, Shifu – you weren't kidding," Master Ox remarked.

"Master Tigress!" Greeted Rabbit, "I see you are as alive as when we last met." He indicated David. "I assume you are the illustrious David we've been told so much about?"

"That I am, sir," David responded. "David Priznat, at your service, sir."

Rabbit curled his lips and nodded sideways. "He's a respectful one – and that's a plus in my book," he said.

"That name, Priznat... that's not a name I'm familiar with," Ox commented.

"It's Russian," David responded.

"Oh?" Ox asked, "It's a foreign name? Does it have a specific meaning?"

"Indeed it does, sir - 'Priznat' is Russian for 'ghost'," David answered.

"Really?" Master Thundering Rhino queried, now interested. "Is this a name you gave yourself?"

"No, sir – my father gave it to me, at first for my appearance, and then for my habit to disappear when I felt it prudent," David responded. "Nowadays, it's much easier to disappear than it was when I was a child."

"How so?" Rabbit asked, setting the food down on the table. David cracked a smile and chuckled. He tapped his gauntlet, and vanished, becoming a barely-visible shimmer.

"Quite handy during night operations when staying out of sight is a priority," David stated, "And it's also useful for scaring the pants off of amateur raiders and criminals. Once I go cloaked, they run in the other direction. Especially when I do this..." His eyes flashed yellow momentarily before vanishing.

"Okay, David, enough with the Halloween scare show," Tigress chuckled with the shake of her head. David decloaked and sat down next to Tigress. "I have to admit, David," Rhino said, "I'm surprised that Tigress chose you as her mate."

"The feeling is mutual, considering the rather colorful background I have," David responded. He sighed, looking at Tigress. "Where I am from, it is said that the true love of our lives will often come to us – confess what they feel for us before we do the same for them." He reached out, turning Tigress's head to look her in the eyes. "That the ones that love you the most are the ones willing to fight for you."

Tigress smiled, knowing what David was telling her. "You keep saying, 'where I am from'," Rhino said. "Would you mind elaborating where exactly that is?"

David sighed, then began, "I hail from what, several centuries from now, would be known as the United States of America – or, in short, America."

Croc leaned back in his chair. "So you're from another land," he surmised.

"Another nation, another continent altogether, and one that will not come to be until many years from now," David affirmed.

"Am I interpreting this right?" Rabbit asked, "You're from another time? Like, the future?"

"For lack of a better description, yes," David replied. "I came back to this time with Tigress both because I love her too much to let her walk out of my life, and to stop a madman before he causes what many in my time would know as the Apocalypse."

"The apocalypse?" Rhino asked. "This man caused the end of the world? And you're here to stop him?"

"That's correct, sir. Far-fetched, I know – but it is truth," David said.

"No one accused you of lying, David," Tigress told him. "But... I, myself, have seen the devastation Eden caused. I agree with David in the fact that Eden must be stopped."

"I see," Rhino said. "Have you yet planned how you are going to take him out?"

"Nope," David answered. "Planning is the worst thing you can do against an enemy like Eden – he seems to sense trouble before it happens. As history recorded, though all assassinations failed, impulsive acts came closer to succeeding against him than planned incidents. If that's the case, I'll just nail that rat bastard when he shows his face and be done with it."

"And what makes you think you would succeed against him, when even the Furious Fighters couldn't defeat him?" Croc asked.

"Because... it was foretold in my time," David responded. "It is apparently my destiny to destroy him."

"Wasn't it me that destroyed Eden in your time?" Tigress asked.

"It was," David affirmed. "You destroyed Eden in my time... but the foretelling was of me, not you. It was said in the legend of the Immortal Twinblade that an immortal warrior would go where others could not, destroy Eden, succeed where others had failed, and change the world forever. Now, I don't claim to be an ardent believer in destiny, but... I do admit that our present situation has intriguing similarities to the legend foretold so long ago."

"Who was it that foretold this... prophecy?" Ox asked.

David looked directly at Shifu. "He did," he replied, "A week before he vanished. He was never seen again."

Silence settled over the table. Shifu was, on the surface, calm and collected. But Tigress saw through the facade. He was shocked. It was as though David touched up on a subject far more sensitive than Tai Lung had ever been.

"So, it wasn't a dream," Shifu stated, eliciting surprised murmurs from the others present.

"You remember, don't you?" David queried.

Tigress got suspicious. "David, what's going on?" she asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Something I never got to mention to you – between the Enclave, the Raiders, the Legion, and everything we were doing, I was focused on getting you here. I didn't have time to tell you... your master and I have met before," David answered.

Tigress was the first to display astonishment. "He came before me...?" she gasped.

"Three days after I had my vision regarding you," David affirmed without ever looking away from Shifu. "Sadly, I got to him too late to save him from the radiation poisoning."

"In my final moments in that... dream... I told him of you," Shifu further affirmed. "And he swore to me he would bring you back. What I never expected, and I doubt he expected it either, was that he would come back with you. I would have to agree that our present situation has... remarkable similarities to that prophecy. Even more remarkable, I dismissed it as a dream, wishful thinking, and yet, you come here, with my daughter, holding her hand as her mate, and now telling me in vivid detail of a dream I had not long after I sent word of Tigress's demise."

Tigress was shocked. But she brushed it off. She wouldn't hold this against David. She leaned on him and murmured, "Next time you think of something you think I should know, don't be shy, dear."

David chuckled softly. "Of course, _moya lyubov_," he told her. They shared a tender kiss, and the everyone began digging into their meal. Tigress found, despite the shock of knowing her father appeared in the wastes before she did – and died – she was content knowing that it lead to David becoming her mate in eternity. The masters continued to probe David about his homeland and time, and David answered honestly. It was only a matter of time until they came to understand why David loved Tigress so much. With the festival coming fast, everyone was eager to get down to the valley and join the festivities.


	17. Part II, Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

When the feast finished – and Shifu was surprised at how well David held together, even with Tigress's aid – the masters headed down to the valley, while Shifu, David, and Tigress headed to David and Tigress's room, where Shifu showed the list of songs he'd selected for the festival. David looked somewhat surprised, frowning slightly as he looked between the list and Shifu.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked.

"Certainly not," Shifu chuckled. "I'm not one for jokes – that's Po and Monkey's field."

"Take it from me, David – he doesn't joke around," Tigress assured David.

David shrugged, typed in a few commands, and the data was transferred to a small device, no bigger than a large note pad. "Just show me where the music is being played, I'll get things set up."

"Set up?" Shifu asked. "What do you mean?"

David indicated the device. "This thing is a holographic projector and Media Player," he explained. "It'll create the necessary tools and instruments and limited AI personnel to play the instruments to effectively play the music you've selected. But they're holographic, so they aren't real. It's like having a music band to play live without the need for them to actually be there."

Shifu's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Intriguing," he commented. "I have to see that myself, now."

"Well, if we are gonna do that, we'd best get down to the festival," Tigress suggested. David, Tigress, and Shifu headed out, exiting the palace and beginning the descent into the valley. During the descent, Shifu made a request:

"David, tell me something... I gather from the tale you and Tigress told that you – before you met Tigress – spent a lot of time in Zion Valley. Why was that place in particular not hit as hard with the radiation and contamination and such? And for that matter, why did you stay there so long?"

"As far as why that place wasn't as bad as elsewhere, I imagine the location had something to do with it," David explained. "Not sure why – if there is a reason, some explanation for that place's remarkable recovery from the nuclear fallout, I don't know of it. As for why I stayed there so long... It just... became home to me, even after the fallout and radiation cleared. Even after the Vaulters invaded."

"You say that as though you defended the valley from them single-handedly," Shifu observed.

"I did," David affirmed as Tigress gently took his hand. "They slaughtered some Mexican survivors that had taken up residence in the valley unprovoked. Seeing them gunned down like that... just set me off."

"I won't force you to say anything further, David," Shifu said in an attempt to console David.

"Not much more to say, really – for the next ten months, I fought them. It was like I kept daring them to come and get me. But all my traps, ambushes, and sniping convinced them I was some vengeful spirit haunting them for what they did... They came to that valley over two hundred strong; when they left, barely a dozen were still alive. It was after they left that I met Sylvie."

"Say no more, David," Shifu told David as they reached the base of the steps. "I know well the story of what happened to Sylvie. And I'm sorry. In any event, I am happy you've a mate in Tigress."

David looked to Tigress with a smile. "So am I," he said, never looking away from her eyes. They both smiled, then leaned in for a quick kiss before moving on, where Shifu showed David to the area where the songs were to be performed. David went about setting up his projectors and hooking them up to the source, with Tigress lending a hand and the occasional villager looking on in confusion. As the preparations were nearing completion, David suddenly paused with a concerned frown.

"What's wrong?" Tigress asked.

"Something feels... off," David replied. "Can you not sense it?"

Tigress reached out with her mind's perceptions, and was able to detect whatever it was David felt – a feeling that seemed out of place... or a presence that did not belong. David materialized one of his assault rifles and loaded it with a metallic _click-clack-clack!_ Tigress merely drew a plasma pistol she had tucked into the back of her pants. The villagers began murmuring in confusion and worry, but none started screaming and running. David moved away from the stage area, looking around as though scanning for this odd feeling he felt. Tigress followed him to an antiquities shop, where he caught a masked man red-handed as he was rummaging through a desk.

"Hey, stick-y," he called out to him, "Shop's closed. Party's out there." He moved his head to indicate the general direction of the festival. David's voice startled the man, and he jumped nearly three feet in the air and drew a pistol. He chattered in a language Tigress didn't understand, which caused David to frown and point his weapon at the man. He spoke, but in the same language, and Tigress couldn't understand what was being said.

It was completely unexpected, then, when a _second_ intruder shot at Tigress. She felt the shot hit her back, but it glanced off her shield. She whirled around and put a plasma pulse straight through her attacker. It was then that all hell broke loose; several more foreigners suddenly appeared, and began firing. But the weapons they used, David thought, weren't consistent with this time period – they had bolt-action rifles, something that wouldn't be invented until years from now.

Tai Lung's troops showed up and engaged the intruders, and David and Tigress moved to assist; the intruders took cover where they could, firing shots more at Tai Lung's troops than at David and Tigress. Tai Lung's troops, though trained, were inexperienced; they took several casualties fighting the intruders. Three of them took direct hits going for cover, and were dead before they hit the ground; four of them were hit rising from cover at the wrong time, but were not killed.

"Screw this," David growled, loading his rifle with depleted-uranium rounds. He rose from cover, took aim, and fired on one of the intruders taking cover behind a vendor stall. The bullets went right through the stall, and into the intruder behind, electing a pained howl. David shifted aim and fired again, this time taking down another intruder moving to tend to his fallen comrade. David advanced on their position, the intruders' weapons doing little harm against David's energy shield. Tigress moved to support David, taking down a fair number of the intruders herself. Tigress had just taken down one of the few remaining intruders when she saw another throw something at David. It bounced once, flew over David's head, and landed in a stall next to Tai Lung, now arriving on the scene.

Tigress' eyes went wide when she saw what that stall was full of. "TAI LUNG, WATCH OUT!" she shouted. David snapped around, rushed to Tai Lung and pushed him clear of the explosion. The explosion sent David through a wall, and Tigress saw his shield overload and fail. Tai Lung picked up David's rifle and moved to engage the rest of the intruders, who fought to the last man. Tai Lung expended the last bullets in the magazine killing off the last intruder.

"Who were those guys?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Let's find out," Tai Lung suggested. "Sergeant, police these bodies – bring me anything you find." The soldier nodded, and began coordinating with his comrades. Tigress' attention, understandably, was elsewhere. She rushed to David and stopped at his seemingly unmoving body.

"David! David, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you, Tigress, no need to yell," David growled.

"Shit, David, you're lucky to be alive!" Tigress stated as she helped David to his feet.

"That was a brave and selfless thing you did, David," said Shifu as he arrived. "Well done."

"But the situation has become much more complicated, Shifu," David said.

"How so?" Shifu asked with a frown.

"Those intruders were speaking German," David answered. "And they were using rifles that shouldn't exist in this timeline."

"You're thinking someone else followed you to this timeline?" Shifu surmised.

"Either that, or they were sent back through time by someone in whatever alternate timeline my presence here may have created," David responded. "I'll only know for sure if one of these guys has a missive or something containing their orders."

Tai Lung then approached David. "That was a close one, over there; are you alright? Do you need a medic?"

"The medic can come later," David grunted. "If one of these guys has a missive or anything, I need to see it. Those interlopers were never supposed to be here."

"Given their weapons and the language they spoke, I can see that," Tai Lung said. "Question is, who sent them and why?"

"We'll only know for sure if one of them has something that contains their orders," David replied.

"Did the one intruder say anything that caught your attention?" Tigress asked.

"He spoke too fast for me to catch it all, but from what little I gathered, he sounded surprised to see us," David answered. "The kind of surprise a man gets when he recognizes his target and is rushing to act."

"Let's get you to a doctor," Tigress said.

"I don't need a doctor, Tigress – the shields took most of the blast. Most I need are some painkillers and rest," David responded.

"Even so, it'd be a good idea if Mei Ling could check over you, make sure you aren't seriously injured," Tigress protested.

"Don't push yourself too hard, David," Shifu warned him. "You just survived an explosion that would have killed a normal person."

David paused, then nodded in acknowledgment. Tigress helped him to a seat, and sat down next to him. "Seems you aren't as out-of-place here than you thought you were, sweetheart," Tigress said.

"How do you figure?" David asked.

"In the short time you've been here, you've earned the respect of my adopted father, made nice with the Kung Fu masters, befriended Tai Lung, and now saved his life. That's a hell of a resume," Tigress explained.

"So I imagine," David sighed with a small, affectionate smile. Mei Ling was along shortly after, checking over David while Tai Lung's men searched the bodies of the intruders for anything that might indicate who they were and why they were here. It wasn't long before Tai Lung approached David with a document in his hands.

"David... I can't make out what this says – can you translate it?" he asked. David accepted the document, reading over it with a frown on his face that got deeper the more he read.

"Colonel E. Catscratch... where have I heard that name before...?" David whispered.

"What does it say?" Tigress asked.

"They were German mercenaries sent back in time to assassinate you and I," David responded. With a heavy sigh, he looked to Tai Lung and added, "Looks like I have no choice but to offer you and yours my equipment and technologies; your troops need to be trained and prepared to fend off further temporal incursions."

"What about that talk of the timeline?" Tai Lung asked. "How you don't want to alter it any more than you have to?"

"This incident just proves that it is necessary. My mere presence here seems to have altered the timeline, though I don't know why it is not affecting me," David responded.

"Think this has something to do with Eden?" Mei Ling asked.

"If it does, it has to be something tied to his demise – or these mercenaries would not be here," David answered. "Again, it would seem my mere presence here has created an alternate timeline, and future events will be shaped by what we do here."

"So we still are going to take Eden down?" Shifu queried.

"Indeed," David said. "If Eden is not destroyed, the world will end in nuclear fire. But what has me worried is... if Eden is defeated, what changes will that bring in the timeline?"

"We will deal with that when it comes," Tigress assured him.

"For now, mister Priznat, you need to rest," Mei Ling added. "You were lucky to survive that blast with minor cuts and bruises."

"Like I said, the energy shield took most of it," David grunted as Tigress helped him to his feet. She helped David up the steps to the Jade Palace, leaving behind the air of uncertainty in the aftermath of the temporal incursion...

(My apologies for the wait. Life has its way of making one supremely busy.)


	18. Part II, Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Weeks rolled by with no further incidents. No further temporal anomalies. No sudden attacks. David and Tai Lung trained the troops to use, maintain, and deploy weapons centuries more advanced than anything ever made. David was continually impressed. But always did David keep an eye on the horizon, watching for the day when Eden would return. He kept alert for any sort of anomalies that would indicate an attack or otherwise threaten the valley he was coming to call home.

Tigress continued to see David get better each day. In short order – and in secret – he administered his immortality to the other warriors of the Jade Palace. He still continued to warn them and caution them, but eventually came to accept that this was for the best. He taught them to use their newfound power, and they took to heart his warnings and teachings of the benefits... and the dangers... of these new abilities.

But there was trouble brewing on the horizon. David's presence in the valley did not go unnoticed; Eden was aware of the presence of the Immortal warrior from the future, and could feel the very fabric of time being disrupted. He moved to consolidate his power and his followers, and began working to draw up plans for the total annihilation of the Valley of Peace. Well aware of Tai Lung's army and their new supply of weapons, Eden moved to secure similar weapons from the future using his power over time and space.

Soon, there would be war, and peace would be as dim a memory as the Valley itself in the wake of Eden's attack...

David stood before the counter pouring himself a cup of coffee when he felt Tigress press her body against his back, sliding her arms around his waist and gently biting, then tenderly kissing, his shoulder. "Good morning, sweetheart," she murmured.

"Good morning, love," David chuckled. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, I did," Tigress answered. "Wrapped up in your arms, how could I not?"

David stirred his coffee, then took a sip. "Think we got up early enough?" he asked Tigress.

"I imagine so," Tigress responded. "Morning gong doesn't really sound for at least a couple more hours."

David glanced at the clock. "So what will we do for the next couple hours?"

Tigress didn't vocally respond, instead turning David's head around and pressing her lips to his. David set his coffee cup down and embraced his lover, leaning into her kiss, and giving her a kiss of his own.

"How do you say 'I love you' in dragon?" Tigress asked.

"I believe that would be _Zu'u lokaal hi,_ Tigress," David responded.

Tigress laughed lightly. "One of these days, you're gonna have to teach me to speak Dovah," she said.

"Why? So you can talk passion and romance in front of your friends without giving your adopted father a heart attack?" David chuckled. Tigress chuckled with him, but still held David pressed to her body. "Who would have thought that an over-prepared survivalist American would get to fall in love with a resilient, hardcore Chinese Kung Fu master?" David asked.

"When I first met you, I didn't expect it," Tigress said. "But over time, in my travels with you, in my time hearing your stories, your past... I came to care for you. Love you. I came to want you, more than anything." She paused, then asked, "Baby... what was your reaction when Shifu told you I was coming?"

"Honestly? I was scared shitless," David admitted. "Not only did I not want to offend either of you, I was dreading having to tell you of your father's demise... well, in that timeline, anyway. More and more, before you arrived, I was fearful I wouldn't get to you in time. The day we met, I was almost convinced that either I was too late or that you were going to surface elsewhere. Then I picked up that temporal anomaly, and you know the rest."

"Yeah, I know the rest of that story very well. And we're continuing that story even now," Tigress said with a smile. She paused, inhaled, then voiced something that had been on her mind since returning home: "Baby... you ever think about getting married?"

David chuckled softly with Tigress, leaning his head on hers. "It crossed my mind a few times," he replied, "Both before we came here... and after. The problem I had with getting married in the Wasteland... kinda hard to find an intact jeweler's store in that mess, and even harder to find an appropriate wedding ring."

"But would it have been difficult to propose to me?" Tigress asked.

"That it would be – not just finding the courage to propose to a woman from another time and place, but finding the right place to do it," David answered. "And it wouldn't feel right unless I had a ring."

Tigress laughed. "Are you always so meticulous?" she inquired.

"Not always, but often," David responded. "Still... are you considering marrying me?"

"It crossed my mind," Tigress whispered. David chuckled lovingly, giving Tigress a gentle, tender kiss on her lips.

When morning gong sounded, Tigress and David were both outside with the others. They followed the others to breakfast, and sat down together while Po passed out the bowls of food. "Amazing," Po commented, "You spend so much time training Tai Lung's soldiers, yet you still find time for Tigress."

"When you're in love, you _always_ find time for that special someone, regardless of how busy your schedule is," David said. "Even though I was helping train Tai Lung's army, I couldn't neglect Tigress. I love her too much."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Mei Ling complimented.

"Take it from me, Mei Ling – he can be very sweet," Tigress assured her. "Even with everything he's been through."

"So I imagine," Po remarked as he set Crane and Viper's bowls down before them. "Two hundred years is a long time that a lot can happen in."

"Ain't that the truth," David commented.

"Just wait – before we know it, those two will be getting married," Po snickered. David and Tigress looked to each other with smiles.

"It's nothing to laugh about, Po – you were no different with Mei Ling," Shifu said. "And if David and Tigress were considering marriage, I'd be the happy father that supports it."

"Wait – _are_ you two considering getting married?" Tai Lung asked. David and Tigress exchanged looks, and Tai Lung thumped the table. "Hot damn, the look says it all!"

David laughed, "Damn, you got me!"

"We were discussing it this morning, before morning gong," Tigress admitted.

"With as much time as you two spent in the wasteland, I'm surprised you didn't propose to her there," Monkey commented.

"Yeah, we touched up on that, too. You realize how hard it would be to find a wedding ring in that mess of rubble, concrete, and steel?" David responded. "All the jeweler stores had been picked clean by looters and scavengers looking for something to sell. By the time it occurred to me that I was falling in love, the stores were empty; it'd be like trying to find a bullet made of ice in the unfortunate victim's body."

"Why am I getting a reference out of that?" Tigress asked sarcastically. David laughed.

"Anyway, things need doing down in the valley," Shifu stated with a wave of his hand. "We'd better get to it."

Everyone finished their meal, then descended into the valley to assist with the cleanup of the mess left in the wake of the temporal intruder attack and the festival that came before and after it. During the tasks, Tigress occasionally felt cold, and noticed David kept looking towards the edge of the valley, as though he saw or heard something that drew his attention.

It was getting into the afternoon when David looked outward again, and Tigress moved to confront David about it. "What is it?" she asked him. "What do you see?"

"Can you not feel it?" David asked back. "The cold, the deathly feeling... he's coming."

Tigress reached out, and felt what David was feeling – that cold, deathly presence she had learned signified Eden's presence. Looking back, she found proof of this supposition – she felt the same thing when she faced Eden as he cast her through time, and again when she faced him and defeated him at the heart of his power. David was right – Eden was here, somewhere. "If he is here," Tigress assured David, "We'll defeat him – together." She placed a hand on his shoulder. David leaned in for a kiss, but the kiss was cut short when an air siren started blaring, and Tai Lung's troops could be seen rushing for the fields.

"What the hell's going on?!" David demanded over the air siren. Tai Lung came rushing around one corner.

"Eden's forces are here to play!" he shouted as he rushed past. Tigress and David both materialized armor and weapons, then energized their shields. They followed the rush of troops to the northern farmer fields, where a pitched battle was already taking place.

"We've got to get those farmers to safety!" Tai Lung shouted. "David! Tigress!"

"We're on it!" David shouted. He shouldered his rifle and fired, putting down a rodent that was dragging one of the villagers off. The villager got up and ran, and Tigress shouldered her own weapon and fired on another rodent that was going after the lady. The rodent took a burst to the chest and dropped.

"Chen! Jiang!" Tai Lung shouted, "Assist Tigress and David!"

Tigress and David moved with their two assigned comrades to get the farmers to safety. They started with the buildings in flames, getting the terrified denizens out; by the time they moved on the ones not engulfed in flames, the enemy had made their presence known. More than once, Tigress or David had to throw a grenade or fire a burst to keep the enemy troops scurrying for cover. When the villagers in the northern fields were safely on their way to the village, Tigress and David, with their two comrades, moved to Tai Lung's location.

"Report!" Tai Lung shouted.

"Villagers are safe," Tigress responded. She rose to shoot dead an enemy soldier that wandered too close.

"Well, we've managed to hold these guys at bay," Tai Lung said, "But we can't stay that way for long; there's no end to these morons!"

David peeked over the makeshift barricade, then ducked back down. "Pull your forces back to the village," he told Tai Lung.

"What do you have in mind?" Tai Lung asked.

"I'm gonna show Eden's boys why I am called Twinblade," David growled, setting his rifle aside and drawing two plasma katana hilts.

"Are you insane?!" Tai Lung exclaimed. "That's gotta be a legion out there!"

David looked to Tai Lung with a malicious glow in his eyes that Tigress hadn't seen before. "Pull them back!" he repeated, his voice having a thrumming growl quality to it. Tai Lung hesitated, but obeyed.

"Everyone, fall back! Protect the village!" he shouted to his men. As the soldiers and Tai Lung made a tactical retreat, Tigress looked to David.

"I hope you know what you're doing," was all she could say before moving to a safe distance, knowing full well David had that look in his eyes for a reason. She moved some distance away, but stopped to see David rise from cover and approach the advancing enemy. He bellowed an earth-rumbling roar, which seemed effective in freezing the enemy in their tracks. Igniting both his blades - which both were the same black-core blades Tigress had - with a separate _snap-hiss, snap-hiss_, he hissed and growled like a demon, sending chills down Tigress' spine. The others arrived behind Tigress, shocked at what David was doing. It was completely unexpected when, as David spoke in a completely alien dialect, his voice carried a clap of thunder and a distorted wave into the sky, causing it to suddenly and ominously swirl.

"What in the name of...?" Shifu asked in awe. Something formed in the sky, then streaked down into the enemy positions, causing a fiery explosion. Another unidentified projectile fell from the sky, causing yet another explosion, then another, until Tigress saw them fall as though they were an artillery strike. More than half of the enemy combatants went down. David roared again, his roar sounding unusually loud and akin to that of an angry dragon. He started walking, then running, then leapt with a blood-curdling war cry into the enemy positions, cutting them down with inhuman speed and aggression. Of course, the enemy troops had blades of their own, but half of them didn't even have time to draw them as David slaughtered them one after the other. It suddenly occurred to them to surround David, but David seemingly curled himself into a fetal ball in midair as distorted waves seemed to move into him once, then twice, then three times, before he uncoiled and sent a shockwave all around him. Nearly every enemy combatant in the immediate vicinity was disintegrated.

The enemy field commander, who had been standing near a large rock formation until now, roared in defiance, and got David's attention. David rushed him, and quickly engaged him in a furious duel. With each second, David seemed to get faster, until he quickly outpaced him and landed a blow that sent him sprawling to the ground. But it didn't end there; frozen by fear, the enemy soldiers watched as their commander got up, only to see David make a gesture and send him flying into the rock formation. Held there by some invisible force, the field commander roared again in defiance. David hunched over, holding his hands parallel as a shimmering ball of energy formed in the space between. The longer he held it, the larger it got. The ground began to vibrate, then shudder, and eventually shook violently the bigger this shimmering ball became.

"Since when did we get earthquakes here?!" Viper demanded.

"It's no earthquake," Tigress said, her eyes never moving away from David. "It's _him_."

David continued gathering energy, then roared in anger before he sent this kinetic ball into the enemy field commander. The ball rushed for him, then impacted, sending a massive explosion of rock outward. David turned to the enemy soldiers and growled inhumanely. Terrified, the enemy troops ran, and David smacked one on the back as he ran, then made for Tigress.

"Remember this well," he told her, "Whenever you question why so many feared me." Passing between Tigress and Tai Lung, he pressed a datapad to Tai Lung's chest and said, "Let me know when they stop running." Tai Lung frowned, looking at the datapad as it made a soft _beep, beep, beep_. The screen had a blinking light and a map of the area they were in.

"A... tracking device!" he whispered.

"Even in his rage, he always has something up his sleeve, it seems," Tigress commented, looking back at David. He passed among the villagers as they moved out of his way, his feet making that heavy _thump, thump, thump_ as he walked.

"So... what now?" Mei Ling asked.

"Now, we wait for the enemy troops to stop running in terror," Tai Lung responded. "I believe David's intent behind that was to track those troops to Eden's fortress."

"But while we wait," Shifu suggested, "We may want to check on David, make sure he didn't sustain any wounds in that fight." A loud _POP_ sounded, and everyone looked back to see the rock formation, unable to support itself with the hole David blew out of it, collapse.

"Glad David's on our side," Monkey commented.

Tigress turned and went after David, following him up to the Palace courtyard. "David," she called to him, "David, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, Tigress," David said. "Just trying to unwind after such an exhausting combat rage."

"Is that what that was?" Tigress asked. She stopped herself, then added, "Never mind. Will you be alright? Are you hurt?"

"Don't think I sustained any hits in that fight," David responded, dematerializing his armor. Tigress looked over him, sighing with relief. She then dematerialized her own armor and hugged David.

"I was so worried something would happen," she whispered in his ear. "I didn't spend all that effort getting you to come with me to my homeland just to lose you in a fight like that."

"You know me, Tigress," David said as he wrapped his arms around Tigress.

"That doesn't mean I don't have to worry about you," Tigress protested. "In the time I've known you, I have never seen you do _anything_ like that." She tightened her grip on David. "Promise me you won't lose control like that again?"

David kissed Tigress gently. "I promise," he whispered to her. Tigress held David close to her, so much so that she could feel his heart beating. "I'm sorry, Tigress. I was just... overcome. An instinct I haven't felt since I fought those Vaulters in Zion."

"Everyone loses control from time to time, David," Tai Lung said. "It's just part of being a living, feeling person."

"And, regardless of your loss of control, you did an admirable job," Shifu added. "The people all saw what you did. What you saw as a loss of control, they saw as a man standing alone before the fury of an army to protect the people of a place he's come to call home."

"But this is not the end," David stated as he released Tigress. "We will not be safe until Eden is destroyed."

"True – but for now, you must rest," Shifu responded. "Even a man of your ability must recuperate after such a battle."

David nodded wordlessly, and started for the living quarters. Tigress followed him, murmuring to him, "Even in your rage, the people see you as one of us. Never forget that."

"I never did," David replied. "My desire to protect the people... to protect you... is what drove me."

No more words were said as Tigress walked David to their domicile, gently removing his equipment and his tunic, revealing his bare chest. She tenderly kissed his lips, laying him down and laying down next to him, wrapping her arms around him as he did the same to her. They lay there, falling asleep in each other's arms, fully aware of what was coming – the fall of Eden. The toppling of his regime. The aversion of the apocalypse. But they both wondered – would it really be the endgame...

… or merely a prelude to something else?

(What do you think - will Eden's downfall be the endgame? Or will it be a prelude to something bigger? Let me know what you think.)


	19. Part II, Chapter 18 FINAL CHAPTER!

Chapter Eighteen

There was no morning gong the morning following the attack. In the aftermath of such a sudden, deliberate and unprovoked attack, Shifu decreed morning gong the following morning would not sound, in silent reverence to those who did not survive the attack. Thanks to David's intervention, however, the casualties – both suffered by the villagers, and by Tai Lung's forces – were surprisingly light. But, as David suspected, the battle the previous night would not be the end. Because of David's subtle effort in planting a tracking device on Eden's retreating troops, Tai Lung tracked them to a temple, and scouts confirmed that Eden was there, directing his followers. So, as David and Tigress woke, still cradled in each other's arms, they knew that this was the beginning of the end...

Tigress and David wandered into the dining area, where Tai Lung, Shifu and Po were already present. Tai Lung had a parcel of papers and photos laid out before him.

"It's no joke," Tai Lung said. "That structure was built as a fortress over a temple; the upper levels are extensive, providing all kinds of defensive options, whereas the lower levels are more along the lines of a temple. Eden, himself, will be in what appears to be a throne chamber. _Is_ in that chamber. _Has been_ in that chamber ever since his unsuccessful attack on the valley."

"So, to get to him, we'll have to fight through what remains of his army, his guards..." Shifu surmised. He cast a glance over to the doorway and saw Tigress and David there. "You're awake," he said. "And it's a good thing, too."

"Tai Lung's scouts located Eden's temple," Po stated before Shifu could.

"The Stealth Boys you provided allowed my scouts to confirm that Eden is, in fact, there at the temple," Tai Lung continued.

"I'm surprised he hasn't relocated," Tigress commented.

"Intercepted local chatter indicates Eden is shoring up the Temple's defenses and is remaining in the throne room," Tai Lung responded. "He has ordered all troops and followers to prepare for imminent attack."

"A final stand," David said solemnly. "He knows we're coming, he knows there's a very solid possibility we will make it to the throne room... he has it in his head that this is it."

"Or he's got another trick up his sleeve," Po suggested.

"Either way, we have no choice but to go," Tai Lung said. "We can't risk letting him escape."

"Escape is not his intention," David sighed as he sat down. "If he wanted to get away, he would have done so by now... no, he's making a final stand at that temple."

"But why?" Shifu asked. "Why now? What has him convinced this is it?"

"Because it was recorded in old logs that he was specially-tuned to the currents of time," David explained. "He could see things in the future, the past... and he could sense when the timeline would shift and how. I'd wager he sensed my arrival, and felt the very fabric of space and time being disrupted by my presence; seeing that I could destroy him, he decided to make a final stand – go out in a blaze of glory, if you will."

"Then let's not keep him waiting," Tigress suggested.

"So it's decided," Shifu sighed. "Tai Lung, will you take your best to aid David and Tigress?"

"I will," Tai Lung assured him. "They will need us to get into the temple proper."

"Once we get to Eden's throne room, I think it's fair that David take Eden himself out," Tigress said.

"I was hoping you'd let me," David remarked.

"Very well," Tai Lung responded. "We leave as soon as you are ready."

David and Tigress nodded wordlessly, downed the morning meal, then went back to the armory and geared up. It was when David was loading his weapon that Tigress put her hands on his. "David," she said, "No matter what happens out there... no matter how this turns out... I will always love you. And if we make it out of this alive... I would gladly marry you."

David smiled. "That's good to know, darling," he whispered to her, taking her in his arms. "But there's no 'if' in this matter – we _will_ make it out alive. I'll make sure of that." David leaned in, kissing Tigress tenderly and leaning his head on hers. Footsteps could be heard, and Tai Lung's voice said from the doorway,

"It's time." David and Tigress materialized their armor and weapons, then energized their shields, and followed Tai Lung and his troops through the valley, marching to the Temple that would see the end of Eden.

Marching to their victory...

It took the better part of a day to reach Eden's temple. As expected, it was under heavy guard. Tai Lung an his troops opted for small squad approaches; Tigress and David lead the group taking the direct path. This was no stealth operation – as soon as they were in range, David, Tigress, and their squad opened fire on the enemy soldiers. This initially surprised them, but they fought back. Tigress and David took cover where possible, and kept pressing the enemy positions. Their squad did the same. Three hours and dozens of dead bodies later, they reached the foot of the temple itself.

"Red definitely isn't your color, David," Tai Lung chuckled.

"Not your color, either, it seems," David shot back.

"We have Eden's forces on the run – most of them retreated back into the temple; others were routed," Tai Lung reported. "Eden still hasn't left that throne room."

"Like David said – last stand," Tigress commented.

David reloaded his rifle and cocked it with a metallic _click-clack-clack! _And said, "Let us finish this." Tigress could detect a subtle hint of anger and viciousness in David's voice, but decided it prudent not to press the issue as they moved into the temple. Once inside, they went about dispatching Eden's remaining forces, who put up fierce opposition. While Tai Lung's forces kept the enemy busy, David and Tigress found a way around, and went deeper into the temple, coming across even fiercer resistance themselves. The deeper they went, the more prevalent the enemy was. And the deeper they went, the more Tigress could feel David's anger boiling. Remembering the hell of the wastes, old friends killed, terrible ordeals, David became more and more determined to take Eden down for what he had done.

In an odd twist, just shy of the throne room, the enemy presence dropped off completely. David unclipped his black-plasma katanas from his belt and walked into the throne room. Inside was the space of a cave, the walls adorned with banners that were emblazoned with a strange hexagonal symbol Tigress had never seen before. A force field appeared before Tigress could enter, and separated her and David. This would be a fight David had to face alone.

"The circle closes; the end begins," said the leopard sitting on the throne atop the steps. Tigress immediately knew who it was. She remembered him when he cast her through time. Eden rose from his throne and approached the upper edge of the steps, while David approached the lower end. "You dissipated your energy protecting the weak," Eden said as he was surrounded by a blood-red glow, "There are consequences." He then reached out and sent a blast of lightning at David, who countered be intercepting the lightning on one of his black-plasma blades. As soon as this lightning attack started, however, it stopped. Eden gestured, and three other illusion copies of himself appeared, all brandishing crimson Plasma blades. David dispatched all three as Eden walked down the steps. When Eden reached the bottom and approached David, David held his blades at the ready.

"My life will span millennia," Eden said. "Legions will rise to test me."

"Even if that were true, in the end, you will accomplish nothing but death and destruction, destroying the world and becoming an emperor of rubble and ash," David countered. "What's the point to all of this?"

"You discern a fraction of reality," Eden stated. "Beyond the skies of this world, beyond the stars above, exist other galaxies, other worlds, other beings; I will experience or ignore them as I wish. I will spend eternity becoming everything – a farmer, an artist, a simple man. When the last living thing in the universe finally dies, I will enjoy peace, and wait for the cycle to begin again."

"We have defeated your army and averted the Armageddon you sought to cause," David told him. "We have you trapped, and you have nowhere to run. You can't win this."

"My ascendance is inevitable – a day, a year, a millennium, it matters not. I hold the patience of stone and the will of stars," Eden responded. "Your striving is insignificant; let your death be the same."

And just like that, the duel was joined. Eden, wielding dual blades himself, attacked David, and they spent what seemed to be hours to an increasingly-worried Tigress trading blows. This dazzling light show of twirling blades of black and crimson would be fascinating for Tai Lung and his troops, now arriving, to watch, but Tigress saw David's years of rage and anger come out in a series of well-executed moves and graceful arcs and swings. Even powers were thrown between them. Flames lashed out, lightning struck, David and Eden both threw each other into nearly everything in the room. At one point, they twirled their blades before each other without actually connecting, before locking blades.

"You harness... immense power," Eden grunted. "But you lack the purity of will to direct it."

"Direct this," David growled. He broke the lock, then spoke in that alien tongue, sending a clap of thunder and a concussive blast at Eden. Eden, unprepared, was knocked several meters back, sliding and rolling before coming to a stop. David leapt, closing the intervening distance, and attacked Eden. Again, blows were traded, but David seemed to be getting faster, and eventually, he managed to slice off the emitter on one of Eden's blades. While a slight setback, Eden apparently had others, and he grabbed a blue-plasma blade, and continued fighting. This went on and on, with all the powers of two great warriors coming to bear, until David finally landed a critical blow. Eden also sent a blast into David, and they both were flung away from each other. David recovered quickly, and was on his feet as Eden got up to one knee.

"No," Eden stated hoarsely, "I won't be defeated – I can't be!" David closed in on Eden slowly, as though savoring the moment. Eden rose to his feet, and sent a blast of lightning at David, which was deflected elsewhere. Eden sent another, which was also promptly deflected. That same blood red glow began to surround David, and in an act of desperation, Eden summoned a storm, seemingly throwing it on David, which seemed to halt his advance. Swirling wind and dust, painful energy spikes, and lightning surrounded David, and Eden sent a continuous stream of lightning at David, stopping after a few seconds. The storm continued, and just when it seemed David had been consumed, something happened. What sounded like a distant popping explosion sounded as David's eyes could be seen glowing bright red in this tempest. He stepped out, and what seemed to be four familiar spirits arrayed themselves behind him. David shook his head, as though to say, "Tsk, tsk, you should not have done that." Eden summoned another storm, but was cut short when David extended a hand, and flung Eden across the room, pinning him to a wall. When David released his grip, Eden fell to the floor clutching his throat. David crossed his arms, as though confidently waiting for Eden's next move. Out of options and desperate, Eden rushed David with another blade, and David activated his own blades, deflecting the blow, spinning, and driving his own blade through Eden's back. Eden froze, a black blade suddenly protruding from his chest. David finished as he whirled around and sheared Eden in two.

Dying, Eden coughed and looked up ad David. "And so... it ends. Savor... your victory, warrior... this... will not be... your last... battle..." And those were the last words ever spoken by Eden. The force field separating David from the others vanished, and suddenly, David looked a bit unwell. Tigress rushed to David, and held him close.

"David, are you alright?" she asked. David didn't answer. He didn't even move. Tigress looked at his face, only to see he was frowning, as though confused. Then it hit her: Because Eden was dead, nothing she did with David will have happened. "David," she pleaded, "Please tell me you still remember me...?" David never made a sound. "Baby, it's me – it's Tigress. You remember me, right?" David frowned, as though he didn't recognize her. "Honey, stop that – I know you still remember me! Give me a sign, here! Tell me something! Say something!" All Tigress got was silence. Tears formed in her eyes and fell from them, her head bowing in sadness, as Tigress began to consider that David...

A hand gently took hold of Tigress' chin, lifting her head up to look David in the eyes, and her lips met his in a kiss she knew all too well. "Temporal anomaly or not, Tigress," he finally said, "I would _never_ forget you. I would never forget everything you've done for me – everything you still do. I always have, and always will, love you with all my heart." Tigress looked David in the eyes, and saw he, too, was in tears. They kissed again, holding each other close as though fearing the cold away from each other's embrace.

The arrival of another did not go unnoticed as Tai Lung exclaimed in surprise, "What the hell...?!"

"You can relax, Tai Lung – I did not come here to harm anyone," said an aged voice Tigress knew well, but still never expected to hear again. She looked over to see Master Oogway, standing in what appeared to be a spirit form. "You have done better than I ever expected, Tigress," Oogway said. "As did you, David. I can't say I counted on this, but I must admit, you both worked out beautifully."

"Can't say you counted on what?" David asked.

"The love you and Tigress share," Oogway responded. "I didn't expect it, but I do admit, it has done a world of good."

"Master..." Tigress asked, "... was it your will that this happen?"

"In a manner of speaking," Oogway answered. "I will admit, I saw what was in the valley's future, and took steps to avert what David's time labeled as Armageddon."

"So you were the one who had Tigress surface in my time? You knew I would help her?" David asked.

"Indeed, I gave her a nudge in your direction," Oogway affirmed. "Militant you may be, you were – and still are – the best candidate for her. I knew your determination and strict adherence to duty, taught to you in your stint in the military and your two centuries surviving the wastes, would allow Tigress to return home. I also knew of your plan to stop Eden before he caused Armageddon, which is why I gave you two a little help on your journey."

"You wanted us to come back together," Tigress surmised.

"Yes, I did – not only was David so much like you, Tigress, I agreed with your sentiment that he deserved better. But again, I did not expect that you two would fall in love," Oogway responded.

"We almost lost that love," David snapped. "I could feel the temporal anomaly through my armor. I was on the verge of ceasing to be. Yet, somehow, I can still remember everything."

"That was my handiwork," Oogway assured him. "I preserved you as you are in this timeline. As Eden said, this will not be your final battle."

"So there will be other enemies we face," David deduced.

"Yes, there will be," Oogway affirmed. "And because of what has happened here today, you are both ready to face them. Tigress... David... take care of each other. Always remember what you have, the love you share. Remember what you have accomplished together, for you and yours will be needed in the future..." He paused to indicate the hexagonal symbol on the banners. "They will return, of this I am certain. But you both are ready." He turned to face them one last time. "You and yours are destined to face them. Take care, my friends, for there will be blood and death before the end." Oogway then vanished, leaving David and Tigress staring at where he was in complete astonishment. Tigress leaned closer to David.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" she asked.

"If you're referring to the 'you and yours' part that he referenced twice, then yeah, I think he did," David responded.

Tigress smiled, taking David's hand. "Let's go home," she said. And just like that, David, Tigress, Tai Lung, and the forces under their command left Eden's temple to fall into ruin as they headed back to the Valley of Peace...

Fireworks exploded in the sky as the victorious warriors marched in a parade through the valley. Confetti, ribbons, and other celebratory materials fell from the sky as children threw them in the air. The soldiers of Tai Lung's army marched toward a courtyard, where the Kung Fu masters stood gathered. When the soldiers arrived, they all marched apart, forming a path for three figures. Tai Lung, Tigress, and David marched along this path, where they stood at-attention before the masters. Tai Lung was dressed in his uniform, Tigress in specially-adorned attire, and David in his old military uniform – now made new with a six-star emblem on his collar.

"Tai Lung," Shifu said as he beamed with pride, "You have done more than this valley could ever have expected. Thanks to the efforts of you and your army, a great threat has been eliminated. Because of you and your army, this valley is now protected from all those who would see it destroyed. Because of this, it is our honor to present you with the Medallion of Glory." Tai Lung knelt, and accepted this medallion, hung on a cloth strap going around his neck. Shifu came to Tigress and David. "Tigress, David, we all owe more than thanks; you braved the wasteland, returned to us unharmed, and brought about the downfall of a tyrant. You two gave us hope and peace, and live as examples of what we all strive to be; your courage, skill, and commitment has seen us through this dark time. It is our honor to both award you Medallions of Glory and to record your names in the Hall of Warriors as David and Tigress Priznat, the Ghost Warriors of the Jade Palace." The crowds cheered, and as David and Tigress rose to their feet, one of the villagers shouted,

"Glory to the Champions!" As the villager shot his arm in the air, every one of the villagers let loose a loud, unified _"HAU! HAU! HAU!"_

_And so it was that the Tiger from the past and the Tiger from the future brought an end to the destructive conflict that would have ravaged the world. David's involvement in bringing Tigress home, and Tigress' involvement with David in the following conflict tipped the scale, shifting the fragile balance of power._

_Demoralized and defeated, the remnants of Eden's army were faced with a hard choice – join the army that had destroyed them, or be left with nowhere to go. Those that joined Tai Lung's army found it was better than their time under the tyrant Eden was. Those that refused eventually made a half-hearted effort to avenge Eden's death, but were driven off by Tai Lung's forces, trained in the ways of war that David Priznat had brought from his homeland. The remnants of Eden's army were soon eradicated, leaving Eden's temple to fall into ruin and disrepair._

_Shifu, having seen both his adopted children succeed far beyond his wildest dreams, felt proud and accomplished, and rightly so. In the coming years, he would see Po and his family – especially Po and Mei Ling's eldest daughter, Lian – grow especially close to another family that would come of happy unions._

_Tigress and David, so deep in love, married a year after Eden's defeat, and in the years ahead, would come to have a son together. Though there were arguments – never violent – over what the child would be named, Tigress and David eventually settled on naming their son Jason Priznat. Jason would be a spitting image of his father, but still retained his mother's eyes and martial skill. Jason would eventually come to be close to Po's eldest, Lian, connecting the two families in a new way._

_But always are these warriors ready. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and the warriors of the Jade Palace kept their eyes on the horizon, looking for whatever enemies would threaten their home. They all knew, based on Eden's words and Oogway's, there would be a new war, because war..._

_… __War never changes._

**To be continued...**


End file.
